


Seabass and Flowers

by GetInMelanin



Category: Actor RPF, American Actor RPF, Sebastian Stan - Fandom
Genre: Accents, African girl, African heritage, African traditions, At this point I don't even know, Complicated African names, Drinking, F/M, Flirting, For DeePet and captainafroelf, House Parties, Hugging, Humour, I'm sorry if they are, Implied Sexual Content, Interracial Relationship, Kissing, Like supernova drama queen, Mentions of Zimbabwe, Mild Angst, My First Fanfic, Ndebele, Ndebele traditions, Nicknames, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Overly Dramatic, POV First Person, POV Third Person, Partying, Sarcasm, Some people may be ooc, South Africa, South African accent, Sugarcane, Tags May Change, Tall character, They'll keep switching, This is actually a humour fic, Yes I spelled humour with a U, Zimbabwe, drama queen, sorry bout it, yes I went there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-28
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-08-18 08:56:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 25,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8156425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GetInMelanin/pseuds/GetInMelanin
Summary: At the age of 7, Mbali's mother instilled the fear of God (AND her Zimabawean ancestors) into her. Which explains why she's still a virgin at 23."Wait...are you a virgin??"She let out a strained breath whilst attempting to adjust to, or at least accommodate, the intrusion between her thighs. She winced as she shifted a little to release the slight cramping in her lower back."A significant amount of inches ago, yes."Well, was a virgin at 23...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DeePet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeePet/gifts), [captainafroelf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainafroelf/gifts).



> Hey hey hey!! So you may have seen me in the comments section of Bucky's Dimple by DeePet once or twice and yesterday I was just sitting around studying for my test and my Gemini mind was racing at 1000 thoughts per second and I thought "HEY, imagine if they did a sitcom-esque movie featuring Sebastian Stan and like a black actress with nothing but mayhem and misfortune (funny misfortune) and they like fall in love or whatever"...well here we are!! 
> 
> This is my first work on here and right now everything is an organised chaos whilst I get the actual story in line, but trust me when I say I've had about a million different ideas for AO3 but I dunno, I feel like this just needed to happen and I'm adding a different dynamic in that our home girl is from Africa. Her name is hella complicated though!!! I hope you enjoy and don't be afraid to comment...or kudos...or both ;) Peace and Bacon Grease xx

_**August 27** _

  
Honestly I thought people attempting to say my full name back in South Africa was cringeworthy. That is, until I moved to the States. Now it's just pure debauchery. But considering the present circumstances, if I were provided the option to choose between being _HERE_ and listening to Donald Trump have a go at genociding my name...I'd cheerfully accept the latter. And when I say 'here', I don't mean America.

God, no.

I've been thoroughly enjoying the beautiful West Coast weather. All sunshine and blue skies and weird old pot-bellied men skating along the grey pavement in a variety of, uhm, questionable bathing suits. Great food too! But not as great as New Orleans. My first ever spoonful of seafood gumbo ultimately brought me to the conclusion that world peace would only be achieved once the UN gathered all the world leaders into my best friend's backyard, each with his or her own bowlful of heaven.  
I've been living in the States for a decent amount of time. Initially starting off as an exchange student from Johannesburg, during my course in aeronautical engineering, I won a national university beauty pageant. And being an official ambassador for my uni, I networked and got introduced to a series of awesome societies and underground departments that allowed for international travel  _without_   the atypical requirement of outstanding academic performance...I swear, why doesn't anyone ever bothered telling us about these gems during O! Week in first year?! After a little brown-nosing here and bullshitting there, I got offered the opportunity to shadow a major marketing director in the USA for a year.

  
I'm also a pathological liar. What? You seriously can't tell me you bought that aeronautical engineering crap?!

  
To cut a long story short and save you from falling into a vegetated state of boredom - all drool down your chin and eyes rolled back into your head - I returned to Johannesburg a year later to complete my degree (Marketing if you must know), graduated, kissed my strict African parents goodbye ("don't come back here with a baby and dololo wedding ring wena!!") and flew my ass back up here with a sickening CV that landed me a job in Cali working in sports marketing.  
So now that we're up to scratch as to how I got here, I suppose I should fill you in on the other " _here_ " I was referring to. You know, the one where my name and the rest of my life is currently in the process of being thrown under a moving train.

Well, we'll get to that story...all in good time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You get 2 chapters today because the first one was disappointingly short. This one is from Seabass' POV....yes, Seabass. I stole that from one of the other fics I read but I can't remember who. I think it was Queen of Wakanda...please don't sue me!!

_**April 4**_  
_**Somebody's ratchet ass mansion party** _

  
_"...I'm a rich n*gga got Chanel on my waist_  
_Run up on me playin' Imma aim it at yo' face_  
_And that go for anybody...anyway..."_

  
_Pass me the hookaaah, YAAASSSS!! That song is my jam and peanut butter!!!_

_Maaan I'm so. Tipsy. **Nooo**! Nope! I'm drunk. Most definitely SMASHED!! How do I know I'm smashed? I know I'm smashed because I'm leaning over the basin on both hands, staring at the black girl with dilated pupils in the mirror and telling her to get it the FUCK together. In this elaborate ass bathroom that obviously belongs to someone insultingly rich or famous, or both. Whatever. I don't even know who the fuck is hosting or when my friend Milane and I got here...but we're both satisfyingly drunk. And sexy. Sexily drunk, which means I can brazenly get my flirt on now and regret my actions tomorrow. There's that fine ass basketball player from Stanford who said he's off-season. Or maybe the exotic looking one from, where was it again? Germany? Gibraltar? Fuuuck, who cares man I just want to squeeze his arms. And his ass._

  
_Aaaand now I'm giggling. Time to go._

  
Making sure my makeup is still in order and that my flexi rod set is still somewhat presentable (because who wants damp, shrunken and frizzy hair when they're tryna feel themselves?), I zip my knee high length fishnet heels up and pull my burgundy short onesie down a bit at the crotch so it wouldn't warrant anyone zoning in on my ass stuck in a wedgie, or worse - cameltoe. Tall girl problem, yano? With one final "I'm watching you" gesture in the mirror I turn on my heel (no pun intended), swing the bathroom door open like I own this bitch and sashay my way down the empty, also elaborate passage.  
Empty, save for the concrete mass of human flesh I just happen collide chest to chest - well _boobs_ to chest - with, as I round a corner heading back to the music.

  
"Oof!!" I grunt, as I stumble what should have been 3 whole feet back and onto the floor. I see and feel a pair of strong hands grab onto my left arm and right side of my waist ( _not my waist dammit!_!) holding me steady.  
"Shit! I'm so sorry," he exclaims sounding a bit taken aback, as though women power walking in 6 inch heels and in my inebriated state shouldn't go bouncing off his Superman built ass. "Woah! You okay there?" His right hand now came to rest on my right arm and he ducked his head slightly to peer at me through my curls.  
"Ya, ya. I'm all good. I'm just a little tipsy."  _Liza Minelli, LIES!_  
Clearing my throat I look up and into a pair of stunning blue eyes. Lawd!!! Hide your kids, hide your wife. This mystical creature, that is too perfect to be human, has the bluest eyes I'd ever seen and if I didn't know any better I'd say I needed a change of underwear, cause I just flood my basement. His dark brown hair, pulled back into a messy bun, a welcoming contrast with his skin and eyes. Risking a wide eyed sidelong glance, I notice a thick, muscular arm trailing to and over a broad, defined shoulder and chest. He had a lean torso, the faint outline of abs subtly showing through his white short sleeved shirt with every breath.

  
_Ok, but is he even real?_  
"Ok, but are you even real?" I asked.  
_Cause shiiit, I must be really drunk then._  
"Cause shiit, I must be really then." I mumbled looking to away.  
He smiled and huffed out a chuckle, and I _swear_ on my first born's first born I started planning our wedding and life insurance policies for our future kids. "Pleased to meet you Just a Little Tipsy," he let go of me and held out his hand. "I'm Sebastian and I'm very real." His smile widened, causing the corners of his eyes to crinkle.

  
_Fuck._

***

Sebastian Stan wasn't one for rich people's house parties. Pretentious people trying to outflash each other with their fancy cars, fancy designer clothing and fancy watches. Some or all of which were most likely rented. The music had its moments (that were far and few between). Too much booze, no food and no place to sit. And then there was the girls. Drunk pretty things throwing themselves _at_ him and throwing up _on_ him. He didn't mind the former too greatly, came with the territory and he didn't mind playing along. Maybe tapped that once or twice, or 4 times.

But right now he was dealing with the latter and he was disgruntled - and plotting his friend's death once he figured out how to navigate this fucking fortress of a house.  
He had just gotten rid of his soiled jacket, throwing it into a random room in which two people were clearly too drunk to realise they were about to copulate with the door wide open, trying to find his way to the driveway or the poolside or any- _fucking_ -where that provided oxygen, when he was faced with category one of the House-Party Girls criterion.  
Poor thing went flying into him and was nearly sent flying back from whence she came, he instinctively latched onto her arm and stopped her ass from being introduced to the floor.

In his moment of chivalry he took the moment to give her a once over, and reached 4 conclusions:  
a) She was a real looker. Radiant brown skin with yellow undertones (a makeup term he learnt from his ex), subtle full lips that were slightly pouty, a prominent nose and eyes that were the same colour as how he took his coffee, dark brown with sugar. Her hair that was framing her face was curly and a little frizzy, giving her a wild exotic look.  
2) She was dressed to turn heads, which he was 100% sure happened and resulted in several cases of whiplash from all the double takes and jealous girlfriends slapping their men into yesteryear for ogling her too long. Showing off legs that went on for days, months and years in those heels and a narrow waist, which he only realised then that he was palming.  
d) Not from America. When she answered his concerned question, she had an accent. British? No. Australian maybe? He couldn't quite place it but when she spoke she enunciated and rolled and folded her words pleasantly around her tongue.  
IV) _Spank bank_. "Ok, but are you even real? Shit, I must be really drunk then." And she was funny.  
Sebastian decided to lay the bait and see if she'd catch.  
"I'm Sebastian and I'm very real." He held out his left hand so he could steady her with his right. She gripped it and shook his hand quite firmly with a dopey grin plastered on her face. _Was she blushing?_ No, for real was she blushing? because he couldn't tell under all of that mahogany goodness.  
"I _know_ who you are dude, you played fine ass Bucky from Captain America!"  
_Fine ass, huh?_ He couldn't help the mischief in his smirk, let alone his voice. "Who the hell is Bucky?" The laugh that came from her caught him by surprise and he couldn't help the chuckle that slipped past his lips.

  
Oh, yeah. He was totally gonna hit that...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so hopefully this'll keep you beauties entertained while I work on Chapter 3 and 4 and 5 and...yea. I'll likely post again on Friday so stay tuned!! Frequency will vary but I'm going with once or twice a week depending on life and school and other unnecessary things. Peace and Bacon Grease xx


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You get shenanigans, you get shenanigans...everybody gets MORE shenanigans!!!
> 
> Flashbacks indicated by "---" or was it "***"?

_**May 18**_  
"Ok dude, you have _got_ to stop stalking me." Sebastian wasn't paying attention to where he was going, the game on his phone far too interesting. This almost resulted in a repeat of the events that took place in the large hallway of the house party he reluctantly attended.  
Suddenly everything came flooding back: the girl who threw up on his jacket, his escapade in that annoyingly large house, him almost catching a body after practically rugby tackling her mid-step, him almost _wanting_ to jump said body and fucking her senseless but holding back when he realised she was someone worth talking to. _What the fuck was her name, again??_

  
\---

 

They had both fallen into a comfortable and easy going conversation that night, granted she was completely drunk out of her mind. They had been talking for a good 20 minutes. Sebastian casually throwing in his two cents where necessary as he struggled to keep up with the conversation. She had taken a tangent off another tangent about 'Donald Trump's wig having more transparency than Hilary Clinton, but a better grip on his head than he does on reality.'  
" _Uggggh, you knooow...I wasss in the battthhroom trying to get myself togethaa!!_ " She said a few decibals too loud. " _But obviously it was pointless because I TOTALLY smashed into you and nearly broke my neck. Fucking brick wall built ass._ " She grumbled as she grabbed on to his arm to steady herself from engaging in the drunken tango with the floor.  
She was quite the dramatic one too, he noted. " _Well for someone who's as drunk as you claim, you're doing a pretty good job balancing on those torture devices you're wearing. They look good on you though._ " He sarcastically praised, looking at her legs for the 15th time that night, trying to understand when it had become legal for scientists to tinker around with human and giraffe DNA. She gave him a smug smile and sauntered passed him, swaying her hips slightly. _Gotdamn_.  
He was still watching her from behind, dirty thoughts racing through his mind at 120 miles, when she suddenly stopped and whipped around to face him. Her head slightly tilted down as she typed away on her phone with an unnecessarily serious look on her face, all furrowed brows, squinty eyes and pouty lips. Sebastian was busy trying to gather himself into a semblance of control after nearly flattening her AGAIN, when her dark eyes flitted up to his, " _Thiisss was sooo fun but I've gotta go. Drunk friend crisis. Ssoo. Sssuperr. Sorry._ " She bit the corner of her soft bottom lip as if to emphasise just how regretful she was.All it did for Sebastian was send his head into a violent we-'ve-failed-takeoff-and-now-we're-nosediving-into-the-sea-real-fast spin.  
While he was still clearing his head, she suddenly leaned in and planted a drunk, sloppy kiss on his cheek. When she retracted he could feel the subtly wet spot where her lips had been as the air lightly touched it. " _See you around Seabass_." And with that she turned and waltzed away, doing the drunk one-two step as she disappeared around the corner.  
Only an hour after their encounter with each other, when Sebastian was pulling into the driveway of his way home, did he realise she'd called him by his nickname. Rarely used, it only circulated amongst his co-actors and family. Shit, the monicker was actually coined by one of his exes.  
He also realised he's a fucking idiot, because he forgot to get her name. _Dammit!_  
\---

Sebastian suddenly snapped back to reality when he saw a hand waving frantically in his face. "He-lleerrr? Anybody home?" She spoke in that accent again, rolling the "R" dramatically for emphasis, but this time it was crisp and clear having lost the intoxicated slurring. Her voice was also surprisingly deeper than he remembered and it had a husky feel to it, as if she was sentenced to recovering from severe tonsilitis for the rest of her life. It also made him think of the sensation one got from taking the first sip of an expensive finely crafted bourbon that had been mellowing in the barrel for years. Honied and warm and satisfying, the type of whiskey you'd keep locked away in the cabinet for months only allowing it to see the light of day on very special occassions.  
"Huh?" He shook his head slightly and awkwardly cleared his throat, "sweety you're an obnoxiously tall human lighthouse. Everyone just swarms to you in order to get a general sense of direction otherwise, you ain't that special." He winks and flashes a megawatt smile and almost falters when he actually sees how different she looks. Decked out in a pair of dark grey jogger sweatpants and a black racer back tank top with the words "Easterns Netball" eblazoned over the left breast in bright yellow, with no makeup and her wild hair pulled up into a fluffy poof on her head, she looked 19.  
Shit, she damn well looked _better_ in this laid back get up, more relaxed and chippier. There were a few fading dark spots sprinkled along the side of her face and into the hollows of her cheeks, and a minor breakout had decided to make an appearance in between her thick eyebrows - but imperfections be damned, this girl was beautiful. She was also sporting a smug grin of her own. "And yet here you are, having almost knocked me over again. My light must be shining real bright if _you're_ here, Seabass"  
Again with that nickname. The way she made him feel all hot and bothered when she said it in that gotdamn _accent_...  
"Hey, are you busy right now? I could use a drink."

Well at least he'd nipped the situation in the proverbial bud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realised something...sorry if I'm confusing anyone with the spelling where some words with a "z" have an "s" or there's a "u" in words like 'favour, colour' etc. Here in South Africa we use the Queens English
> 
> Disclaimer: No presidential candidates toupe was harmed in the making of this fan fic


	4. Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was HONESTLY considering not putting this up because I reckoned it was long (2 parts, of which part 2 is longer) and I want to create suspense. I'm scared I may be posting too fast for you guys. The only reason I posted so much is because I'm only gonna post again next week Wednesday, so perhaps this will keep you satisfied for now? Let me know what you think =) Enjoy sthandwas (loves)

**_June 16_ **

_**18:47pm** _

 

"Milane, get your wide load ass up!"

I greeted my friend as I made my way over to the sofa in our shared apartment. If there was one thing I was sad about, it was the fact that June the 16th wasn't a day of monumental importance in America, which meant I still had to wake up at 6:30am for work and zombie-shuffle my way through the house for the rest of my day after knocking off at 17:15.

"Bruh, you look like absolute shit. Just like yesterday. And the day before. Fuck that, you've always looked like shit." Mimi snickered when I raised my middle finger in her general direction as I unceremoniously flopped onto the plush comfort of the long sofa. "Ek haat jou ook, liefie." I could never understand why she felt the need to bust out into Afrikaans when neither of us have read or spoken the language since high school, and we were both equally and humiliatingly shit at it. Milane and I had been friends for what felt like decades, even though it was only 3 and a half years. Although the bitch did serve crypt keeper realness after a night of post-work Friday shenanigans. She was the one who hooked me up with the sports marketing job and in a cunning ploy to stop paying shitloads in rent for her apartment, she also hooked up a place for me to stay.

"Fucking hell," I grumbled as I adjusted my seating and lay face down. "I feel like my entire reproductive system is preparing to wage war against Napolean Bonaparte. Please have mercy and just end my life Milane, please?" I looked up when my friend failed to counter my plea of desperation with a snarky comment, flicked my eyes in the direction of the TV in which she was now grossly immersed and immediately groaned, burying my face back into the leather, a failed attempt at suffocating myself having realised what the vindictive little shit was up to. "Milane, _NO! Why_???" I muffled.

Evidently this garden snake hoe didn't think I was suffering enough already, so she decided to hit up Netflix and proceed to play Captain America: The Winter Soldier, fast forwarding the movie and pausing Bucky's scenes, a look of evil mirth settling on her face. "You know tjom, I'm honestly failing to comprehend how you neglected to notice and acknowledge Sebastian Stan and his extreme levels of 'sex me so good I need to call home and tell mama I've found my fucking husband' until after you saw a gif of him on captainafroelf's tumblr page." She fast forwarded again and paused after The Winter Soldier's mask was promptly knocked off his face, timing it perfectly so that Seaba-...Sebastian's face froze on the screen in perpetual perfection.

"Remember when we absolutely gagged in this scene?! You even choked on your drink!" She howled in laughter, collapsing onto her side and pinning my legs to the sofa. After a few seconds she regained her composure and looking back at the screen, murmured "Bet you wish you were gagging and choking on something completely different now, huh?" I groaned as I snapped my head up suddenly, giving myself an intense head-rush, glaring daggers and hail stones at her.

"Fuck off, spawn of Satan." She collapsed in laughter again. For God's sake, how did I become friends with this woman??


	5. Chapter 4 part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's part 2!!!

_**June 16**_

  
**21:25pm**

 

**Sup Seabass, how's it hanging?**

  
**Jesus Rori, aren't we moving a little too fast? ;)**

 

I had finally decided to grow some balls - ...erm, boobs...and sent Sebastian a text. Twenty-nine days after I had run into him on my way home from the doctor's office. Twenty-nine days after we spent time exchanging banter and falling into deep conversation over drinks. Twenty-fucking-nine days after he told me to text or call him, but not before sending my female lady hormones into a frenzy. Hey, don't look at me like that - damn straight I had kept count, bitch! You would too!  
I couldn't help the smile making its way onto my face as I noted how Sebastian used the nickname he had christened me with. Twenty-nine days after he, just like many others, put my first and middle names in an industrial-sized meat grinder and pulverised them - and it still made me feel queasy and giggly and pathetically girly just like it did the first time.

\---

Sebastian blinked. And then he blinked again. And then he blinked 3 more times in silence. Her name was a mouthful. Nah, fuck that, a handful. But he didn't want to be rude and straight up ask her to make a compromise. Her name was thick and thirsty African roots digging deep into the warm, brown earth, it was different shades of African skin, tumbling from the mouths of generations upon generations of ancestors who once wrapped and rolled and clicked their tongues around every syllable the same way the ocean rolled along the shore and wrapped around the hot bodied limbs of curious sightseers and its regular patrons - and he wanted to wade into the waters and dip his toes into a language completely foreign to his part of the world.  
"Gunsuntheid," he eventually said, sitting across from her in the little juice bar they'd found together. He had unceremoniously announced his desires to have a drink with her (which he thought would be like 2 or 3 days from today) and with a bright smile on her face she had said 'sure', grabbed his wrist and ungracefully jerked him across the street to the nifty little cove nestled in the street corner simply dubbed _JustJuice_.  
She giggled and took a sip of her Mango, Away smoothie. He could see why she picked this place. It was easy-going, with a range of punny-or-die titles for their smoothies and other drinks. It was simple and straight to the point, yet fun and quirky. Just like her.  
"You wanna run that by me again, ma'am? _Slowly_ , this time." He leaned his forearms on the table as though to emphasise how serious the situation was.  
"Ugh, I did say it slowly though," she tilted her head to the left with a crooked smile and her brow lifted. "But I can see why you'd need to hear it again, I can see right through all that chestnut brown hairdye, blondie." She winked at him and took another sip.  
"Yeah, let Chris' Evans and Hemsworth find out you're throwing jabs about being blonde. Your legs will be their new skipping rope. Now, say your name again." He leaned back in his seat with his arms crossed against his chest, stopping to push the stray hairs that escaped his hair tie up and away from his face.  
"Only... if you promise to let me braid flowers in your hair."  
"You asking me out on a date, cooks?" He canted his brow and plastered a shit-eating grin on his face when he saw her usual smug demeanor crack slightly, her brain scrambling to come up with witty retort. Cute.  
Having found none, she folded. "Rorisang. Mbalenhle. Mzilikazi." Ah, the old switcheroo. Someone obviously isn't accustomed to flirting. "Now the time has come for you to pronounce my name for. Your. _LIFE_!! Don't fuck it up." She said with an exaggerrated serious look on her face.  
"Rory-sang Mmmba-len-sh-lay Mzil-.."  
"Yoh, Jesu!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands up in exasperated defeat. "It's fine, I can already see the beads of sweat on your forehead. E for effort but it's a 'no' from me." He gave her an unimpressed look and scoffed in mock offense. At least he tried. "For the both of our sakes, just call me Mbali." She stuck her finger and thumb out forming a "hand" gun making a shooting gesture in his direction with a wink.  
After what seemed like forever sitting in that little juice bar talking about nothing _and_ everything, they had eventually emptied their glasses, paid for their drinks and were now walking along the sidewalk headed in the direction of what Sebastian could only assume was Mbali's apartment building. They came to a halt at the end of the street corner and she sighed and turned to look at him. He looked down at her expecting her to sass mouth him but instead felt her lithe arms wrap around his shoulders, pulling him into a hug. He hesitated for a second before moving his own arms up to rest just under her shoulder blades. She loosened the embrace a bit, pulling back slightly and turning her head so her lips were by his ear.  
"A church hug? Really bitch?" She muttered in his ear. Her warm breath tickling and brushing along his neck and suddenly he was glad she couldn't fully see his face because he was blushing _furiously_ at just how close her face was to his and how much he was turned on. He was pretty sure she thought the whole exchange was only meant to be classic, innocent banter but - dammit, he was praying to God (if that's your thing) and asking science (if that's your thing) to be a fence of purity because the heat that had risen in his cheeks was also spiking in other bodily regions.  
To avoid saying something stupid and morally unacceptable, Sebastian lowered his arms to her waist and pulled Mbali in close, bowing his head slightly to rest his chin on her shoulder. She was a good 2 or 3 inches shorter than him now that she wasn't in heels. She pressed herself into him more, tightening her arms and turning her head away from his neck to rest her cheek against his shoulder. He could tell that she was accustomed to giving hugs like this because it seemed to come naturally to her. It was warm and tight and reassuring, almost as if to indicate that although this was goodbye for now - or forever - this embrace will remain and linger and grow on you, like a yeast infection.  
Sebastian's mind and body was still racing from Mbali's chaste-erotic whispergate, and although he didn't want to make things awkward between them considering it was still the early stages of their...whatever this was, he couldn't help the devilish smirk that was creeping on his face. Or the naughty gleam in his baby blues. Or the moment when he turned his head, placed his lips against the dark, warm crook of her neck, opened his mouth and gently nipped her skin.  
He pulled himself away from her with a shit-eating grin on his face, which only grew wider when he saw the look of mortified shock and surprise fixed on her pretty face. Her brown eyes were wide and blinking, lips slightly parted in a silent gasp as her hand came up to touch the freshly assaulted area. He chuckled nasally and said, "next time you chide me - I won't be gentle." And with that he walked up to her stepping to the side so they were standing with their shoulders touching, with him facing the other way. He trained his blue eyes on the people and buildings ahead as the sun began to sink itself beneath the comfort of the horizon throwing a orange-red and pink hue across the landscape. "I guess you can call or text me if you're bored or your house is burning down or whatever." Through his peripheral he saw her look down and slowly raise her hand to take the cellphone he had appropriated from her earlier on when she wasn't paying attention. Shoving his hands into his jean pockets, he slipped past her.  
"See you around...Rori."  
As he walked away, Sebastian realised that he had subconsciously made his claim on Mbali twice. Biting her neck indicated that he _wanted_ her body; giving her a nickname that was only synonymous to _him_ meant he wanted her undivided attention - wanted her eyes on _him_ , wanted her to smile because of _him_ , wanted her to fumble her words and fidget and squirm and heat up and feel her heart stutter...all because of him. He realised then, that he was teetering very dangerously between lust and love. A dandelion daredevil traversing up, up, up upon the paper thin tightrope of infatuation he had only dared to walk once before.  
Wherever the wind blew, was where he would fall...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eeep!!! Girl I caught mad feelings from this lol. Can't wait for this story to unfold and eventually fall into complete and utter MADNESS!!! I told you she had a hella complicated name!  
> Rorisang = Praise in Sotho; Mbalenhle = Beautiful flower/s in Ndebele or Zulu; Mzilikazi = well that's a whole history lesson on its own but he's the revolutionary leader who started the Matebele empire/culture/tradition in Zimbabwe (formerly know as Rhodesia and Matebele Land before that)...so altogether Rorisang Mbalenhle Mzilikazi equates to 'Praise the Beautiful Flowers of Mzilikazi'
> 
> Also translation from part 1: "Ek haat jou ook, liefie" = I hate you too, lovie in Afrikaans =)  
> I hope you guys are liking this story so far. Please please PLEASE don't forget to decorate my comments section and swing your kudos this way =P  
> Peace and Bacon Grease xx


	6. Chapter 5: Part 1...again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yep 2 parts again because I'm such a perfectionist!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm soooo super sorry y'all!! I promised an update on Wednesday but I landed up getting bronchitis over the week (because I'm the pre-serum Steve Rogers of the house) and I've been recovering and on meds that knock me out for hours. BUT I'm heeeeeere with two new parts/chapters!! I just hope they're good and you like them cause I typed and edited while I was in a drugged up daze (o_O)  
> Warning: Looooong ass chapters ahead and a sad attempt at writing implied sexual content  
> ENJOY!!

**_June 27_ **

Anthony Mackie would like to think he had patience and was tolerant. He could tolerate Chris Evans hogging the bathroom in the morning, "Beyonce did _not_ wake up like this, sweetheart." He was patient when social media left no stone unturned after his and Chris' relationship went public - blasphemy because Chris character as the straight, white male Face of America didn't transcend into reality. And then there was the adoption of their beautiful little Syrian baby, Nevaeh. That was a **_real_** shit storm!

So yeah, Anthony reckoned he was pretty well versed in those two areas. But right now - right now he was beginning to wonder if perhaps all that drama and bullshit had worn those characteristics thin. Or maybe continuously running up and down after the little ball of energy, who was _extremely_ curious and mischeivious (the latter was evident when Nevaeh, at the babbling age of 3 was caught by Chris smearing peanutbutter all over his 1 year old nephew and the dog) made him a lot more selective as to when, and on whom he exercised both. Well regardless of which reason was more accurate, right now he wasn't in the mood to entertain the tomfoolery that was Sebastian Stan and his inability to realise he was smitten. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I dunno man. It sounds like Cupid didn't just choose to shoot you, but his weapon of choice was a lot more lethal than some basic ass bow and arrow set. Shit, he probably threw Steve Roger's damn shield at you."

"What? Has Princess Nev showing you two what Beyonce meant by 'bow down' finally begun to erode your sanity? Keeping her little size 2 Giuseppe's on you and Chris' neck got you two going super soft. Ain't that right li'l Nevvy??" Sebastian pulled the little girl closer into his chest and wiggled his index finger against her ribs, sending her into a fit of sweet giggles, her nose crinkling slightly. Anthony smiled.

"You aren't a father yet Stan Man. I promise, once you see your kid's first toothless smile, the game is up," he held his hands in the air in mock surrender. "But tha-..."

"I like how you say 'yet', as if I ever gave you any indication of me wanting children. I could _barely_ take care of Jaxx, which is why I eventually decided on giving him up, remember?" He asked, referring to the grey-blue cat he had put up for adoption just last year. He had him for at least 7 months, which was a miracle alongside the fact that the feline actually managed to survive being in his possession. "Besides, I feel like having a goddaughter who likes to wreak havoc on my kitchen in search of candy and cookies is already one toddler too many. _And_ It's illegal to sell kids, Mack." He stared pointedly at his friend, before having to break his gaze to tend to the sticky fingers that had tangled themselves in his shoulder length hair. "Nevaeh, we're gonna fight girl. I already told you, no pulling Uncle Seb's hair dollface!"

Anthony's phone pinged and he swiped right to see Chris' text letting him know he was outside. "Look man, stop being an idiot," he helped Sebastian pry Nevaeh's chubby little hands from the death grip they had on the brunette's locks, "you can't keep using the excuse of being too busy or not having the time for a relationship because of your career. That's just being unfair to her and quite simply being a bitch." He scooped his daughter up into his arms and propped her against his hip, completely oblivious to the language he had just used in her presence. Sebastian got up and strode across his living room to the door, swinging it open wide enough for his friend and goddaughter to glide past him and out onto the driveway.

"Just...talk to her, ok? Ask her out or whatever it is you weird single people do. Netflix and chill? Look, just do something because God knows I do not wanna deal with annoying phone calls from you bitching about how frustrated you are, when Chris and I are revelling in _our_ down time." And with that he made his way to the car, Chris waving goodbye as they reversed and drove off down the quiet neighbourhood.

Sebastian sighed deeply, running his fingers through his hair. "Fuck." He muttered, as he pulled his phone from his pocket, unlocking it and scrolling through his contacts. He pressed the green dial button and held it to his ear.

By the time the phone call had ended, Sebastian was grinning wider than the cat that had caught a mouse.

 

\---

 

 _I'm gonna kill him_.

That was the only statement I kept repeating in my mind for the upteenth time, as I waited for Sebastian to pick me up from the airport. In my defense, my hormones had been raging all week and it seemed they were finally coming down from their high in lieu with my cycle having ended 2 days ago. If there was one thing I hated about contraceptives, it was the advanced levels to which they fucked up your hypothalamus and left your body having to deal with _twice_ the amount of oestrogen. Which was only heightened when my period came around. I could go from being an emotional and tearful, ice cream craving bitch monster to being the Antichrist.

Hell I didn't even really _need_ the damn pills. My sex life was just like Kim Kardashian's marriage to Chris Humphries - one big ass floptastic FAIL! I was only using them because my skin was acting up and I absolutely refused to use Accutane. I didn't need to be an Antichrist with dry, chapped lips and a potential minor psychological issue.

I was snatched from my reverie when there was a sudden flash out the corner of my eye. Looking up, it was just then that I realised Mother Nature had decided that 2 days after removing Her stilettoed foot from my uterus, She didn't think I'd received enough of a figurative ass whooping so She'd conjured up a thunderstorm that was threatening to spill at any moment.

It just so happened that I had straightened my hair the day before.

And now Sebastian was 20 minutes late. Do you know how long that is in Rachel Dolezal hours?? So what if we've gone on a few dates and texted and called each other way too much than it was healthy, practically inseperable whenever we found the time to just hang out and do nothing?? That does not mean he can start disregarding my penchant for punctuality. Ooooh I'm going to let him have it!! By the time I'm done with him, the wrath of Shaka Zulu will look like a bunch of kids playing tag in the school yard. _Especially_ if I'm forced to walk to his car in the godforsaken rain with freshly flat-ironed hair.

_I'm. Gonna. Kill him..._

*...

"Oh, for God's sake! Look I already told you I was sorry, Rori. I got held up with my agent and after that, got attacked by a mob of teenage girls armed with cellphones, excessive posts on Snapchat and enough selfies to get themselves banned from Instagram for a year." The image of Sebastian anxiously dealing with young fangirls jumping him from every direction caused the right side of my lips to twitch up slightly. But I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing my irritation desipate. To make sure I emphasised just how pissed I was with him, I made my way out the en-suite bathroom and into his bedroom. My hair now tied up in a lazy twisted bun on my head. Indeed it had started to rain and the humidity in the air alone had caused my hair to start frizzing.

"I don't care what your excuse is, Sebastian," I retorted cooly, refraining from using his nickname as I balled up the towel I had grabbed off the shower rack, preparing to throw it at him. "I just wanna know if _you_ know how to flat iron...natural...hair..." My sentence trailed off as my eyes fell on a sight a lot of women would be willing to start wars for.

Sebastian was laying on the bed on his back, limbs splayed out on both sides and his chocolate brown hair tossed this way and that, some of it falling over his eyes that were now closed. The grey sweater he had been wearing was haphazardly tossed into a corner of the room, his black fitted t-shirt on top of it. _Holy fuck._

My gaze trailed down his body and came to rest on his perfectly crafted physique. It was as though his parents put in an order to God asking for the day's special. Hold the onions, extra fries. His smooth ivory skin was pulled taut against his well defined chest and chiseled abs as he breathed in and out, his pectorals gently tensing and relaxing with the ebb and flow of his steady breath. His black jeans were hanging _way_ too low on his hips and I couldn't help but be a sucker for the sexy 'v' line that disappeared beneath the material, leading to a place of temptation I refused even think about, let alone look at.

I was so stuck digging around in the box hidden underneath the pile of thoughts and ideas in my brain labelled "dirty thoughts", that I failed to realise he had cracked one eye open - obviously curious as to why I had halted my ranting mid-sentence - and was watching me unashamedly oggling his perfect body, unconcsiously biting my lower lip.

"Something on my face, ma'am?" He had a look of humour on his face, his voice lower than usual. _Flirtatious_ even. I snapped my eyes back up to his face, thanking all that was holy for the black girl magic that was my skin's ability to hide the heat that was rising to my face and ears. The fucker had a smug grin on his face obviously revelling in my being caught drinking in his body. _Fucking Lucifer._ "You're making me feel uncomfortable, _baby."_

He sat up from his spot on the bed, my eyes widening a little at the way his abdominal muscles contracted and became more pronounced with the action. _Oh my God, I'm going to fucking die._ He rose slowly to his feet and started making his way over to me, a leopard stalking its prey. _Fuuuck he's going to eat me alive, he won't even bother to at least_ kill _me first._ His cerulean blues were now darker as they honed in on me, his intense gaze suddenly making it feel as though everything that surrounded me in the room had fallen away and I was the only object still standing there.

 _Uh-uh bruh_. I'd watched enough love scenes between Olivia Pope and that president dude to know that look anywhere. It was the kind of look that had _again_ left me in need of changing my underwear, my female parts clenching in trepidation because sex appeal be damned, I was still a fucking virgin and would actually like to be able to walk tomorrow morning. I took two steps back and was about to turn and make a break for it when his hand shot up and captured my forearm, the "come hither and let me break you off" look in his eyes had lost a bit of its edge and they were now filled with concern. He stepped closer to me and I couldn't help but look away in embarrassment and shame.

"Hey, hey. Rori - you don't have to look so damn scared. I'm not gonna hurtcha for looking, sweetheart. I was only kidding. Although really, I don't blame you." He had a reassuring smile on his face as I felt the warmth of his hand now cupping my face, his thumb tracing my lower lip as his eyes kept flickering down to my lips. His arm had also inconspicuously slipped around my waist, pulling me into his naked body. _Dear God, this man!!!_ He was awakening feelings in my body that had been dormant for years. A precipice I had only ever been willing to jump off once before, which had resulted in me crashing so _hard_ on the cold hard ground the I had been gasping desperately both from the impact and the pain of having my heart ripped violently from my body.

The butterflies in my stomach had pushed the tables and chairs back and were hitting the dab and having a good old riot, my heart - having joined in on the fuckery - was on an acid trip with my brain, clouding my better judgement. I sighed deeply, because I knew that in this very moment, whether I jumped or was pushed...

I had been put on a cliff.

 


	7. Chapter 5: Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You already know what it is...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *drops this on the desk and runs away*

Sebastian watched the African girl slowly release a sigh of defeat. She was wearing a yellow dress that hugged her bossom and waist firmly, sinching and then spreading out into a mid-thigh length skirt that flared lightly. When he'd picked her up at the airport, it made her look like a goddess of the sun, lighting up everything that was dark grey and glooming as the clouds rolled over the California skies like a blanket. And when she'd made her way over to his car his heart skipped a beat as he watched the way her long, radiant legs gracefully strode toward him, the muscles in her thighs subtly flexing and relaxing with every step. She had the biggest, most beautiful smile on her face and if Sebastian didn't know any better, he would've sworn on his contract with Marvel Cinematics that she was the one.

But right now, that smile was gone and replaced with a frown. He had caught her looking at his half naked body. Had seen the gleam in her eyes and how she'd bitten her lip as though she were contemplating whether to give in to her unbridled lust and desire to touch him. And hell yeah it had turned him the _fuck_ on. He had taken Anthony's advice. Rather awkwardly laid out his feelings and in turn she had reciprocated. They didn't bother spending too much time talking about their past love lives. "The past refers to a multitude of missed opportunities and painful moments that have _passed_ us by. I'd rather not take a trip down memory lane, thanks." Sebastian hadn't pried any further, nor had he put much thought into that statement. He was too busy acquainting his eyes with Mbali's chest, not to mention he figured she, just like many other girls, had probably experienced her fair share of failed flings or pathetic flashes in the pan.

But now, he could see that hidden deep in those big, brown eyes amongst all that warmth and sincerity, there lay an indescribable amount of pain and anguish. Something that had caused Mbali to fall asleep with the one responsible for her pain as the last thought in her mind and wake up to fresh tears in the morning. It was probably the sole reason she wouldn't allow him to physically express his lo-, his care for her. Suddenly it all made sense as the slates of a broken and pixelated picture began to slide into place and the image slowly came into focus. Not giving him her name but instead offering a chaste kiss on his cheek the night they'd first met; the day he'd teased her on the neck, it wasn't a look of mortification or girly embarrassment: it was hesitation and perhaps the inklings of a painful recollection.

In this moment he wanted so badly to kiss her full lips and hold her tight until her mind and body slumped and relaxed as all that hurt washed away and she was an empty vessel only he could fill. No more doubt, no more pain. Just him showing her how beautiful he thought she was inside and out. But he would be lying if he said he wasn't a little scared. People who hid that much pain and simultaneously wore smiles on their faces just as easy were like a will-o-the-wisp, a glowing and dancing flame that beckoned you towards them, and just as you reached your hand out to carress them - they disappeared out of fear.

"Mbali...I..." He sighed as he struggled to find the right words. "One of the gifts, and curses, of being an actor is the ability to recognise people's emotions. It's in the way there's a slight twitch on someone's lips, how the body minutely stiffens or relaxes, changing its demeanor...the way one's eyes glaze over or gleam for the fraction of a second - but it can only be recognised if you pay attention." He held her beautiful but sad face in his hands, tilting it up so his blue eyes looked straight into her lost mahogany orbs. He closed the distance between their faces but only just enough that he could count the dark thick lashes framing her eyes. He moved his right hand down slightly and traced his thumb across her jawline, followed by her lips. The sensation making her shudder and close her eyes. "I _haven't_ been paying attention."

And then he kissed her. He'd closed his eyes, taken a deep breath in and taken the leap of faith off the tightrope. She was warm and soft and tasted like the vanilla-hazelnut coffee she had consumed in the car ride to his home. He sighed against her and after some hesitation she returned the intimate gesture, her lower lip trembling slightly against his as a tear that had escaped from her shut eyelids cascaded down her brown cheek, touching the tip of Sebastian's thumb. He pulled back to wipe it away and she slowly let out a steady stream of air.

"You know, you're the first person to ever try to say my name?" She had a small smile gracing her lips. "I once gave my name to a boy, and he returned it to me broken and maimed. After that I built walls and took my mother's words to heart. That my name was the sugarcane on which men would break their teeth to get to the sweetness." She reached her hand up to touch the one caressing her cheek, turning her head to kiss his palm, she continued. "And then you said my name and, I dunno, the way you said it, made me feel -"

"Special." Sebastian finished the sentence. He didn't want to hear 'made me feel the same way as last time' because unlike the stupid cunt that let her slip through his fingers, Sebastian had every intention of keeping a tight grip on their... relationship. He kissed her again, honestly he didn't have the time nor the words to stand there and tell her just how special he believed she was.

"If I wanted to take you for some sleazy joyride, I would've taken what I wanted and moved on a long time ago." He murmered as his hands travelled down her body and fell against the curve and dip of her waist, pulling her flush against him and feeling the heat of her body through the thin fabric of her dress, peppering kisses from her lips, to her jaw and down into her neck. In between each gentle peck he whispered, "I just can't seem to stop thinking about you. The way you smile. The way you play with your hair. The way you look at me... _God_ you have no idea what you do to me, Rori." With that he hoisted Mbali, up prompting her to wrap her long legs around his waist. He took her lips against his again, kissing her with everything he had, as if this was the last time he'd see the Ndebele girl again.

He carefully started stepping backwards until he felt his calves touching the base of the bed and sat himself down, Mbali straddling his lap. She ran her soft hands up his bare torso and chest, his muscles twitching slightly under the feathery touch as she brought them up to bury her fingers in his shoulder length hair, tugging gently. He took that as a signal to keep going and slid his warm hand up her back until he reached the base of her neck, where he located the zip. Slowly he began to pull it down, the light scraping sound of the zipper teeth reminding him of a birthday gift being unwrapped, the anticipation of what lay underneath making the slow pace all the more worth it.

He slid the straps from her shoulders and down her arms as his pink lips begun to explore the newly bare skin, nipping and kissing, biting and sucking, listening to the quiet moans and gasps he could elicit from her plump, pretty lips as Mbali tilted her head back in pleasure. He halted his mouthy ministrations to drink in the beautiful sight before him, pupils fully blown, trying and failing to hold back a low chuckle.

"Aaah, dude you just killed the mood." She gave him an incredulous look, clearly offended by him interrupting the moment.

"You have enough hair on your head for 3 people," he replied snarkily, him twirling a strand around his finger, as she reached up to touch the twisted bun that was no longer there. "You managed to snap _another_ hair tie. I'm gonna have to start charging you, beautiful." He brushed the thick hair off of her shoulder and planted a kiss, making her shudder as she adjusted herself in his lap, unaware of Sebastian's arousal that had peaked during their hot intimacy.

"Ok baby, I'm done fucking around here." He all but growled as he snatched the rest of Mbali's dress down, her naked brown chest exposed to him with the fabric pooling around her hips. He immediately dove into her breasts, groping one hot mound here, tweaking a rock hard nipple there. Licking and biting at the sensitive skin as she moaned and hummed her approval, sending small vibrations against Sebastian's mouth as he bucked his hips up against her hot center.

Suddenly he stood up with his hands holding her against him and turned so Mbali lay beneath him on the bed, kissing her deeply as he yanked the whole damn dress down to her ankles with her kicking it off into some unknown part of the room. He started to move his lips down south, the obscene sound of his lips smacking as he kissed her body filling the room while his right hand settled and rubbed gently against her wet mound. She gasped as the foreign wave of pleasure washed up her spine and spread an intense type of heat through her body. She hadn't even noticed her underwear was now gone until Sebastian's cool breath brushed against her.

" _No, waaait_!!!" She shot up suddenly. He looked up at her confusion and annoyance written on his face. How dare she? "What now, Rori? _You're_ killing the mood."

"Uuhm, er, I...uhm...there's no need to do _that_ down _there_." She said sounding very flustered. "I-I mean, you're probably used to giving and receiving right?" He canted an eyebrow, a look of amusement on his face. _Hmmm, what an interesting set of circumstances this was turning out to be._ "And I'm just saying, with regards to the giving part, that I, you know, actually _eat_ with this mouth and the id- _Hoooooh God!_ " Sebastian stopped her mid-rant by licking an infuriatingly slow stripe along her slick core, making sure to put extra pressure against her sensitive clit.

"You talk _way_ too much." He said giving her a triumphant smirk as he moved back up to claim her lips once again. He was also now naked, all the fuckery had been going on for far too long and he was ready to cut the thick sexual tension with a steak knife. He was sure Mbali felt the same way, if her extreme wetness was anything to go by. With his lips and tongue still moving against hers, he lined himself up to enter her...except he couldn't quite find said entrance. _What the fuck?_

He broke their kiss to look down (because he wasn't sure if he had aimed too low or too high) whilst casually dropping an excuse for the abrupt disruption. "I'm fresh outta condoms." He said, blushing a bit because that was the truth and because he felt stupid that he needed to _look_. Mbali, not quite understanding why he was turning red over such a trivial thing, simply blurted out, "I'm on birth control," and pulled him back down to her lips.

Eventually, after making use of his hand in between her folds to find his bearings and confirm that she was indeed still wet and still turned on, Sebastian slowed the intensity of their kissing down to the point of it being nothing but pure lust-filled want and slid himself in. Still lost in the sea of passion and drunk off her scent and taste, he couldn't help the part of him in his subconscience that was very taken aback by just how _tight_ she was around him, and after the second time he re-entered, about three quarters of the way in - it hit him. Like a fucking lightning bolt.

"Wait...are you a virgin??"

She let out a strained breath whilst attempting to adjust to, or at least accommodate, the intrusion between her thighs. She winced as she shifted a little to release the slight cramping in her lower back.

"A significant amount of inches ago, yes." She gave him a nervous half smirk and had it not been for their rather compromising position, Sebastian would've face palmed so hard he'd give himself a concussion. Instead he gave Mbali an incredulous look. Should he be flattered? Would he get haunted by all of her ancestors for deflowering her? What even is life at this point? He heard her sigh. "If I didn't want us to go all the way, I would've stopped this long ago. I want _this_ , with you. You said I have no idea what it is I do to you, right?" He nodded at that, his lip curling up on one side. "So - show me, _Sebastian_."

 _Oooh, he was going to fuck her into oblivion._ Without saying a word, he rolled his hips forward as she shut her eyes and sucked in a sharp breath. He remained still so they both could adjust, looking at her in an altogether different type of way now that he knew he was her first and that she was giving away a very important piece of herself to him.

When he felt she was ready, he started moving. She whimpered and moaned, holding on to him for dear life because, _sweet Jesus,_ after the initial pain and discomfort it felt so goddamn _good._ At first he was slow and passionate, whispering her name and words of love and adoration against her neck and ear, as though each word would scatter this way and that across her body and sink into her glowing brown skin. And then he was fast, holding her thighs and hips tight to the point he was sure he would bruise her, thrusting with vigor, rocking them both back and forth as they climbed higher and closer to the peak. The room was silent save for the sound of skin against contrasting skin, the atmosphere thick with heat and humidity, kisses and moans and groans of unadultered pleasure reverberating off the walls. They were getting closer, closer, so _so_ close - and then...it happened.

It mattered not who's hand struck the gold of orgasm first, just that in all its cliched glory they both unravelled simultaneously. With one final frantic thrust and the twitching and tightening of pelvic muscles, every pore in their skin seemed to be pulsing with energy as minds and bodies came colliding into each other. The violent velocity and impact leaving them breathless yet alert, spent yet satisfied and somehow in all the chaos their minds became a single tundra of perfect bliss and calm.

After what felt like a lifetime of laying there with his head in the crook of her neck, Sebastian finally lifted himself up, grabbed the blanket at the foot of the bed to cover their sexually battered bodies and slumped next to her, sparing a glance at the girl he just made love to. He turned to her and smiled. Brushing some of her hair from her face, he hooked his arm across her waist and pulled her in close placing a loving kiss to her lips followed by her temple as he nestled her head against his neck. She simply sighed in return. " _Man,_ if I wasn't in love with you before, I'm knee deep in that shit now." He muttered against her frizzy mane, placing another kiss on her head. "G'night, Rori."

The African girl cuddled against him didn't respond, nor did she hear a word he said. She had fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So....uhm...yea!!! Now that this has happened. Again so sorry for posting late ugh. I have a logistics assignment due next week *rooooolllllss eyes* and I'm doing promo work for Design Essentials (launching in South Africa FINALLY!!!), so I can't really say when I'll update with new chapters then, if I'm able to update at all.  
> Hope you guys are enjoying this so far...I know I am. Also we're nearing the moment where everything descends into utter chaos and madness, I hope you have your asthma pumps and Xanax ready =D  
> Comments and kudos are more than welcome and will help stop Donald Trump from winning the elections!!  
> Peace n bacon grease xx


	8. Pillow Talk...and drool

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *nervous laugh* Heeeey guys...I'm back after what feels like forever! Sorry to keep some of you waiting but apparently doing assignments can lead to a serious case of writer's block =/ anyho, take this here chapter and run...run far away with it

I wish I could tell you that the smell of eggs and bacon filtering through the room had roused me from my sleep. Or that soft, goosebumps-inducing ministrations of another's hands on my body caused me to roll over with a contented sigh, my eyes falling on his rugged face, a twinkle in his blue ones and a dopey smirk as we gazed at each other lovingly until the need for aforementioned bacon and eggs arose.  
There was no sunlight filtering through white lace curtains, hitting me in such a way that I looked ethereal. And the last time I checked, according to every TV show, movie or best-selling love story I'd ever been exposed to, losing your virginity was meant to hurt _during_ the act - not a whole 8 hours after! Right? My birth canal felt as though it had been lifting weights whilst drench in vinegar laced with cyanide and beat on repeatedly with The Winter Soldier's metal arm... _well_ technically speaking...  
But then again isn't the fucking movies. Or a real life rendition of California King Bed. This was my rather mundane life that had a thing for throwing more curve balls than a professional Major League baseball pitcher; so I dunno whether it was the faint yet unfamiliar smell of aftershave on the pillow (which I had _so_ _sexily_ drooled on, because I told you this wasn't the fucking movies) that caused my eyes to snap open suddenly - with a very unattractive snort. Or maybe it was the extremely awkward and uncomfortable feeling of Sebastian's half hard member against my ass as he held me, my back against his chest, that would definitely leave an impressive sized dick shaped indent if I so much as moved even a toe nail. Either way I still snorted unattractively, which led to the feeling of his stomach muscles twitching and tightening as he resisted the urge to laugh.  
"Fuck off from me Sebastian, you're making me feel hot in these godforsaken blankets. What the fuck are these made of anyway, polar fleece?" I muttered in exhausted annoyance as I pried his hands off me. It was the straw that broke the camels back cause he burst into laughter, which honestly gave me the worst case of butterflies, then groped my boobs while his lips moved against my ear as he dropped his voice real low, "I can make you hot with or without the covers.... the loud noises you made last night is a testament to that." I felt my face go 800 degrees and my pelvic floor quiver as his words turned into action, his hands squeezing my tits again as one began to slowly head down south. For fuck sake, it's not fair how one person could have such an adverse effect on me. I berated myself for my treachery because according to this accursed Jezebel-wannabe vessel I call my body - sore vagina be damned - I was getting horny.  
"Sebastian Stan, If that hand moves another deci-inch, I'm gonna hit you in the face with this pillow. Which I just happened to drool on." He stopped. I grinned.  
"...you drooled on my pillow, dude??" The bed shifted suddenly as he leaned over my messy hair. "Rori, you _drooled_ on my pillow??" The arm he wasn't leaning on reached over so his hand could cup under my chin and turn my face as his blue eyes searched the pillow for the offensive spot. "Where??"   
I would have retorted with an insult if it hadn't been for my tired eyes landing on his pretty pink lips, which were a little too close and a little too _fucking_ perfect for me to think of anything holy and pure in that moment. In fact it actually made me more annoyed. It wasn't fair that this man, who was a fucking ten, thought he could just waltz into my life and make me look like a 2.5 - and I rate I'm a seven on my best day. Why? Why in God's holy name was he so attractive and talented and funny and gifted with - based off of personal experience - the bombest dick game this side of the county? Despite the aftermath. I hate the best organ in his body.  
I was so immersed in mentally hurling envious daggers at him, I failed to register that he had asked me a question. So when his blue gaze slipped down to mine and all he saw was me staring back at him with mixed annoyance and lust, his grip on my face retreated down to my throat and he lowered his head until our lips were just an inch apart.   
"I'm not gonna scold you too much because you're my girl and you have a pair of legs I'd like to drape over my shoulders while my head occupies itself between them." His lips were now barely brushing against mine and my breath hitched, his sinful words making my thighs clench as I tried to regain a semblance of control over my now putty-in-his-hands body. "But drool on my pillows again and I'll get you _real_ riled up and sexually frustrated, fuck you so fucking good you won't be able to string together a cohesive sentence, and just as you're about to come - I'll stop." He sealed his threat with a searing kiss, tightening the grip around my neck slightly. It caused me to moan into his mouth and he took that as a chance to deepen the kiss, deeper than the depths of hell I would occupy once my life ended, because the thoughts that were traversing my mind right now!!!! But just as quickly as I was getting my entire existence, he stopped (fucking biting at my bottom lip like that didn't make me want to flip him on his back ride him like a bicycle...with training wheels cause I was still fresh out of virgin school) and completely pulled away with a salacious smile on his face.   
"Come on. I could use a hot shower and breakfast...with my hot girlfriend." He added that last part as he stretched his arms in the air, sighing in satisfaction after popping a few joints in his back. He threw a glimpse and a smile over his shoulder then started off towards the bathroom, giving me a GREAT view of his well developed back, ass and fabulous thighs. I sighed deeply, both at what I'd just seen and more importantly - heard.   
_Girlfriend_. Just like myself, that concept was completely foreign.

...*...

  
 _ **July 10**_  
Honestly, if it were up to me I'd keep mine and Seb's relationship a secret for as long as possible, because although we were pathetic, making heart eyes at each other every five seconds and fucking each others brains out more times than our bodies could handle within a day (what?), he was still Sebastian Stan. A gorgeous heartthrob who played possibly one of the many iconic roles in Marvel history. He was overwhelmingly famous, and that level of fame came with an army of fan girls and boys ready to decapitate and burn anyone who honed in on him.  
But then there was Milane. And Milane was from the northern South African province of Limpopo. Which meant she wouldn't hesitate to hex me with a lightening bolt that had my name on it if I so much as double crossed her, even once, during our long and crazy friendship. So when she strutted into the kitchen - a cacophony of click-clacking heels, jangling keys and rambling on the phone in her vernacular language - I turned away from the sink and braced myself for her reaction as she came power walking into the kitchen, completely missing the presence of our visitor who was parked on one of the chrome bar stools leaning against the kitchen counter.   
"Mbali, bruh, I know you've been getting a lot of that good-good lately - which I can tell because that dick got you looking a lot less like a miserable African aunty who believes in "dough before bros", thus resulting in her being single and miserable, and more like the glowing 23 year old strong black woman you're supposed to be," she dropped her keys and phone near the coffee machine as she made a move to reach for a mug in the overhead cupboard. I face-palmed in humiliation. "But Imma need you to slow it down because you're _my_ bestie, nearly four whole years of friendship and I need the owner of this bomb.org sex to know that I was here before him and I'm gonna be here _after_."   
"Well, why don't you turn around and tell him yourself then?" The unanticipated masculine voice caused my no filter having friend to pause, a heaping a teaspoon full of sugar hovering over her coffee mug. "You sound a little salty, best friend." Milane dropped the spoon into her mug with a loud clang and turned around, gasping _dramatically_ and clutching her invisible pearls. My hand became mates with my forehead at the scene that was unfolding before me. This was a bad idea.  
"M-Mbali...what the fuck is Sebastian Stan doing in our kitchen looking like the cat that stole the cream??" She was staring at him with something akin to mortified embarrassment, probably the colour of Heinz ketchup underneath her dark exterior. "Wait," she suddenly said as she added 2+2 and got a=mc^2, "Mbali, _you're_ fucking Sebastian Stan? The Sebastian Stan? Bucky The Winter Soldier, Sebastian Stan? Like _James Buchanan Barnes_ , Sebastian Stan?? Captain America's fine ass best friend and potential fuck buddy, Sebastian Stan that you and I both want to rear children for??" I face-palmed again while Sebastian laughed. God, Milane was all kinds of special.  
"Correction - fucking _and_ dating. Rori's told me a lot about you, Milane. I thought she was over exaggerating when she said you were dramatic - instead it appears you're both cut from the same cloth of theatrics." He flashed his crinkly-eyed smile at my best friend and I _swear_ the bitch clenched her thighs and choked on her saliva from high levels of desire. Narrowing my eyes at her, I walked up behind him and tangled my fingers in his hair, gently raking my fingernails against his scalp. He sat up and leaned back into my upper body, his head falling back and nestling in my cleavage with his eyes closed. I smiled lecherously at Milane - gosh I was petty!  
"Hey, Seb and I are about to head off to his place for babysitting duty. I should be back later tonight...if not at all." My smile widened as I retracted my hands from his head and moved to go and grab my phone, but not before Sebastian stood to slip his muscular arm around my waist and pull me into a heated kiss. Well, to the average outsider it looked like a peck on the lips that was a tad too long, but between the both of us it was a " _I can't wait to have you pinned on the living room floor in nothing but your panties just before I give you carpet burn_ " type of kiss. He let go of me and I swatted the offensive limb with a stupid smile on my face, no doubt blushing in front of Milane who would **never** let me live this down for as long as her ratchet ass was alive and kicking.  
Sebastian and I were casually exiting the kitchen and walking through the adjoining living room, opening the door that lead us outside when we heard Milane's loud voice following behind us.  
"If you two ever wake me up with your lewd love-fucking at 3am again, I'm snitching to your mom and TMZ about your overnight extracurricular activities!" Then she shut the door and in true Milane theatrics, locked it.  
I sighed. The bitch was so extra.


	9. GHB and TMZ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter...go fantasize about Sebastian Stan deliberately spunking in your hair. Go on.

_**July 18** _

"You're beautiful, you know that?"  
A lazy smile crept up on my face as I lay limp on Sebastian, who was propped up against the arm of his large couch and running his fingers up and down my spine, giving me the tingles. I lifted my head off his left shoulder and kissed his full lips, a subconscious display of shyness. I was really going to have to sit myself down with the way my insatiable sex-drive was behaving...or maybe it was his sex-drive? Either way, what with it being a public holiday, we found ourselves making love yet _again_ and it wasn't even 12. Although I wouldn't consider this love making - more of a hurried fuck fest because we had foregone the option of removing all of our clothes. Simply busting through the door with our lips locked in a battle of domination, hurling ourselves on the nearest thing that wasn't the floor - my underwear thrown haphazardly in whichever direction (bet you didn't know he went commando) - and fucking almost animalistically. Now that I thought about it, I recall one guy who attempted to date me, remarking on how I would be one hell of a cock slut if I found someone who put that D on me 'real good'...I didn't call him back. _I don't know about cock slut...but he wasn't lying_.  
"Don't you get tired, Seabass?" I sat up and looked at him, well his lips because my God they were my second favourite thing about him. He looked at me as though I'd just asked him to explain the theory of relativity in Yoruba. "I mean...for me...before I lost my virginity, I- I never really understood, well, anything about the dynamics of being in a relationship. Especially sex. I always thought...I thought- I don't know..." That was a lie. I knew exactly where I was trying to go with this, I just didn't want to say it out loud. My inability to vocalize just how strong my feelings were was the one-up that he had on me. A thousand times I could say his name, over and over like a Hail Mary, worshiping him as he moved within and against my body. Believing him with every breathy, hot sweet nothing whispered in my ear. And yet within that same moment, a lot was left unsaid. It was a parallel I had yet to understand.  
"Hey. Talk to me." I focused on his eyes and they held the same look in them as the night we kissed with more meaning than either of us were willing to admit. How could I tell this man with the expressive, beautiful eyes what I felt? About my fears; how I sometimes watched him sleep and didn't understand why I was laying next to him; how I naively thought that sex was the only thing of value I could offer him; that I was willing to sacrifice all parts of me if it meant I could kiss him again tomorrow. The voices in my head suddenly became overwhelming and much to my chagrin, I burst into tears. _Really??_  
If he was taken aback by my unexpected display of emotion, he didn't show it. Instead holding me in his arms until I gave him some sort of indication that I was alright. It came in the form of, "I have a fucking headache now," followed by his deep chuckle and him resuming his ministrations, tracing a line up and down my spine again. I was putty in his hands.  
"Rori."  
"Hmm?"  
"You love me, right?" I nodded against his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around me tight. My mind was racing so much I didn't realise he'd just gotten me to acknowledge and confess to the root of my inner conflict, while putting to rest his own reservations of me not sharing his sentiment. He kissed my temple twice. "That's my girl."  
  


*

 _ **July 25**_  
Sebastian was annoyed when his phone vibrated under his pillow, nearly giving him a heart attack and pulling him from the task at hand - which involved him closing his eyes and relishing in eight hours of warm, fancy covers snuggled against him in some high end hotel in some Captain America crazy country.  
He wrenched the offending device from its confines, cursing slightly because holy shit his pounding heart gave him head rush, and took a moment to clear his head before cussing out the asshat that had the audacity to phone him at - he glanced at the time - 03:07am. _Devil's Hour_.  
"Yeah?" He croaked out groggily, wincing at how it made him sound a lot harsher than he intended.  
"Hello? Sebastian?" The voice on the other side sounded familiar but not enough for him to put a face to it. It also sounded frantic. He pulled the phone back from his ear and spared a glance at the caller ID. _Rori. What the hell?_ She very rarely called him, choosing to text whatever was on her mind cause she knew he'd respond - almost instantly. Besides that, the female calling him was not his girlfriend so what the fuck was going on?  
"It's Mim- I mean Milane." Huh?  
"Melanay?" Hey, he wasn't good at this name thing, Rori was living proof of that. Also, he couldn't give two fucks and a biscuit about that right now because he could sense something awry. "Is everything alright?"  
He didn't need to see her face to recognise the fear in her voice.  
"Something's happened...happening...fuck I don't know!" He felt his blood literally turn cold and drain from his face. If there was any trace of sleepiness in his system, it had evaporated instantly.  
"What's happened to her?! Spit it, Mimi!" He was trying his best not to let his growing frustrations override his better judgement and patience.  
"Y-you probably might wanna check Twitter..."  
Sebastian put Milane on loudspeaker and followed her directions, tapping on the Twitter app. Within a matter of seconds his notifications were flooded with a flurry of retweets and mentions, all with one thing in common - #WhileYouWereAway and Mbali's name. He tapped on the hashtag and by the time he was done reading less than a dozen tweets, he messed his hair up from running a hand through it.  
" _Fuuuuuck_. Where is this all coming from?"  
"Uhm, it gets worse hey. Like...I think you should sit down, you might burst a blood vessel." Oh God, he groaned under his breath. Of course it gets worse, he may have conditioned himself earlier on his career to ignore the media and its users but Mbali hadn't. She was fresh meat, the latest chew toy for hundreds, if not thousands, to play with and judging by the bouts of insecurity she suffered from, this was the _last_ thing she needed to be exposed to. He resumed his phone call with Milane.  
By the time he had hung up, his breathing was erratic and he had bruised the knuckles on his right hand. He needed to get home.  
*  
_**Three days later...**_  
Sebastian's co-stars were convinced their plane door had barely cracked open when he went bolting past everyone, shoving them aside rather violently in order to get to the luggage claims carousel where he first grabbed the wrong duffle bag and then nearly took out anyone within 3 feet of him when he swung the correct bag over his shoulder. They didn't dare to tell him to calm it down, in fear that he may just somehow go into Winter Soldier mode.  
"Hey Seb!" He paused, jaw set, throwing an impatient glance over his shoulder at Chris, "if you need anything..."  
"I know," was all he said before he was off.  
And now, he was sitting on the side of Mbali's bed, the room silent save for the deep breath she'd take every now and again. He looked off to the side, allowing the events that transpired over the last two days to replay in his mind.  
She had gone out partying with a couple friends. Nobody knew when or how it happened but the drink she'd been nursing all night was laced heavily with GHB - within 15 minutes of ingesting it, everything went to pure, literal hell. Mbali barely able to comprehend where she was and with whom. Milane, being the designated driver had kept a sharp eye on the other 4 women using their level of inebriation as a guage on when it would be appropriate to haul their asses home. She instantly knew something was wrong when her best friend started showing signs of drowsiness and felt the palms of her hands were clammy. Going straight into drill sergeant mode, she practically stumbled her way out of the club, enlisting the help of one of the bouncers once she reached the door. In all the pandemonium, someone thought it would be funny to take pictures of the scene and post it on their personal Twitter as some type of social example of what "too much Goose does to these ho's". Sebastian doubts he'll ever know _how_ anybody bridged the gap linking Mbali with him but once one of the sleazy tabloid gossipers got wind of Sebastian Stan's "maybe" girlfriend acting the fool after having what they assumed was one too many drinks, they put out a tweet with the link to a **very** inaccurate article coupled with a hashtag and a disturbing picture of a pale, sweaty Mbali being carried to Milane's car - it spread like the disgusting misogynist, racist, xenophobic wildfire it had now become.  
But if he were to choose between the fuckery that took place on twitter and what happened after Mbali was bundled into her best friend's car, he would have been more than happy to hold a press conference telling reporters and their discriminatory followers where to shove their bullshit opinions.  
The person who tried to incapacitate his girl had laid the GHB on real thick and had it not been for Milane's quick thinking in restricting Mbali consuming the rest of her drink and pulling her out of there to seek immediate medical attention, Mbali would probably be in a coma - or dead. A simple Google search indicated the stuff made Rohypnol seem like a preschooler off of potency alone.  
By the time doctors had wheeled her out of the car and into the emergency room, Mbali had suffered from severe vomiting and a seizure. When they managed to at least get her stabilised, her heart rate had dropped dramatically and her breathing was shallow. She was under constant medical supervision once she was sedated and only after she'd been admitted and wheeled into one of the rooms, did Milane make the call to Sebastian. In short it had been a very scary and bumpy two days for everyone. Especially for him, a thousand miles on the other side of the world.  
His thoughts were suddenly disrupted when the African girl moved in her sleep gently nudging him with her foot as she stretched a long brown leg out. He gently lifted the limb by the ankle and placed it on his thigh, rubbing his hand up and down her calf, lightly squeezing along the thick muscle once or twice. Her eyes fluttered open and once she adjusted to the light, she raised her head and looked at him clearly confused and disoriented.  
"Hey, baby. You feeling alright?" He had to ask, because the last time he nearly wound up with her stomach contents spilled all over his green Henley. She nodded her head yes with a deep yawn, then slowly sat up - because holy fuck her _head_ \- and scooted closer to him so she could feel the warmth of his skin. It made him smile a little at how she could always behave like a big cat even in the most harrowing situations. He lifted his arm up slightly and she lay her head in his lap.  
"My _fucking_ head." She whined. "I feel like I just got punched upside the head by the fucking Hulk." Sebastian laughed a little and began stroking her dark hair at the temple. Her eyes started to get heavy as sleep slowly descended upon her yet again. "Welcome back by the way."  
"Hey drama queen," he gently bounced his leg up and down in a bid to momentarily get her attention, which came in the form of an irritated grunt. "No drooling on my Guess jeans, or you'll wake up to my spunk in your hair."  
She had the funniest look of disgust on her face, mumbling, "fuck off you dirty man," while Sebastian shook in silent laughter.  
Despite the circumstances, it felt good to be home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eeeehhh....ok so this is the last chapter of me going around in circles and flashbacks and ridiculous time skips...from the next chapter on, I am turning into a total fucking monster...God help us all (T_T)  
> Also....SIX HUNDRED HITS!!! You guys are absolutely amazing!!! When I first started this fic I didn't figure it would fly with anyone cause it was a bit different from all the others.I was also a bit insecure about my writing skills, but after all the comments and kudos and hits I just wanna say THANK YOU!! Love you all!!!


	10. Off day? Honey, you have an off life!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *hits post without preview with a smug look on my face*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter!! Y'all already know I gotchu though. Couldn't let you just survive off of two measly chapters! Indulge in this chapter that's a little hawt in the start, go ahead. I support you.

**_August 9_**  
Women's Day. It was Women's Day in South Africa, and ironically here I was doubled over the toilet throwing up what little bit of food I'd managed to eat that morning. It had been a good few weeks since my near fatal incident and although doctors said the GHB would be out of my system once I'd rid myself of it through sweat (wink, wink) and throwing it up, I was actually feeling even _more_ worse than before.  
The whole incident left me feeling all types of pressed and bothered. When I finally came around, my body having flushed the date rape drug out, I was hit with the other burden that was the tabloid's pictures and articles which had covered the story. Very unfairly, I might add.  
I was absolutely mortified at how they had painted me as some spoilt, gold-digging harlot who loved to fuck shit up and blow her rich boyfriend's dollars at anything that had more than two zeros on the price tag. The paparazzi was very unnerving, I couldn't even feel safe in my own home anymore because every time I opened the door, three or four of them would be lurking around out of sight, waiting to pounce on me in the hopes they would catch me in the wrong.   
Whoever coined the phrase "all publicity is good publicity" obviously hadn't had their life figuratively bent across the table whilst it was getting fucked over. I nearly lost my job, my landlord thought I was an alcoholic skank with nomorals, all my friends either stopped talking to me because they ate the bullshit served up by the media, or they started trying to falsely engage me in conversation and niceties with the modus operandi being that they felt they could exploit my "luck" at having a famous person to call my lover. _Fucking fake n bake bitches_.  
Although a lot of these revelations and outcomes dealt a blow to my already crumbling resolve and self-confidence, my ultimate undoing came when I made the error of checking my social media accounts. Everything from Facebook, to Twitter, to Instagram was buried balls deep in derogatory remarks and comments about me and my relationship. I was getting hit with insults that were demeaning and damaging - people talking about how they wished he would "get rid of the trash" or "send her ass back to Africa because we don't need anymore half-breeds"; the biggest shock was that there was hate coming from racist, xenophobic white people and a fair amount from minorities, more specifically black men who either cussed me out for being an African woman who "is a sellout, betraying her own kind." There was even one woman who thought Sebastian could "do better" than some girl from Africa who had "nothing to hold onto at night with her slim up-and-down 2 pound pole body" and I was just his flavour of the moment until someone else piqued his interests. That statement hit close to home.  
If ever there was a time I was _sure_ Sebastian and I were utterly and thoroughly fucked, it was during that period. My insecurity trebled, I felt like I didn't belong, felt like those very same words were mentally echoed in his mind and that he'd either stopped loving me or - he never loved me at all. For five whole days, I wouldn't let him touch me.  
But now everything was getting back to normal...or at least as close to normal as possible. Depending on what your interpretation of normal was...you get my damn point.  
While I continued to dry heave into the toilet, Sebastian just stood by leaning against the door and stared at me with sympathy and concern. "You sure you don't wanna go see a doctor?"  
"Oh, good God _no_. I'm not in the mood for Dr. Mason's bitch face and disapproving looks. I'll be fine, Seb I've been through worse." After getting up, brushing my teeth and rinsing my mouth out with mouthwash, I made my way over to the sex-on-legs that was Sebastian, who had caught the undercurrents of my shade, and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for putting up with me, Seabass." He smiled brightly with a blush on his cheeks and swatted my ass as I made my way past him, with a yelp, into his bedroom.  
"Am I seeing my favourite little girl today?" I was referring to his goddaughter, Nevaeh, who had the both of us pathetically wrapped around her chubby little finger.  
"Nah, not anymore. It's her birthday on the 14th, so Ant and Chris reckon a little get together would be in order." I heard more than I saw the way he rolled his eyes in exasperation. He felt that his two best friends had a knack for overcompensating and overcomplicating - apparently, Nevaeh's 4th birthday was no exception. "As long as it's nothing elaborate, I guess I'm cool with it."  
He made his way out of the bathroom, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw the pouted look of disappointment on my face. His body averted from the direction he was originally headed in, instead making his way over to where I was standing with a slight grin on his face and a quirked eyebrow. His large warm hand came in contact with the back of my neck, coaxing me to lean in to his face and press my lips against his. I must have lingered in the intimate exchange, because I suddenly felt his strong arms wrap around my waist as he pulled me flush against thick, muscular torso. He was such a _beefcake_ , with all those defined muscles flexing and pulling, even when concealed by slightly loose fitting sweaters you could see the bulk of him. It secretly delighted me to know that I had been awarded with countless opportunities to map his entire anatomy with my eyes, hands and mouth, knowing which parts elicited low growls, feather-light sighs and feverish grunts. I felt my face muscles give my thoughts away as I smiled against his lush lips. He pulled back and looked at me with lust blown eyes and a teasing smile.  
"You wanna share the joke, Rorz?" He asked, his voice low but smooth and silky. My fallopian tubes twitched.   
"Just thinking."   
He resumed his ministrations, except his lips were occupying my jaw and neck. "About what?" He asked in between a kiss to my pulse point and a wet lick under my earlobe. A light moan escaped my lips and he took it as a green light to unbutton the large shirt I'd knicked from his wardrobe, shirking it off my shoulders.  
"Ab- about **yOU**!" The last word came out with a sharp intonation because while he bit hard just above my collarbone, he'd groped my ass and ground his hips and subsequent bulge against my now sensitive lady bits. He shot a quick wink and grin at me. _Smug jerk_.  
"What about me?" _How the hell could he think of making pleasant conversation at a time like this_?? He dipped his hands under the elastic waistband of my workout boyshorts, hooking his thumbs on the outside, and slid them off my hips and down, allowing them to freefall to my ankles once they passed my thighs. He then guided me backwards towards the foot of the bed, pausing to let me step out of the discarded bottoms, before gently seating and then laying me back until I leaned on my bent forearms. He kissed the inside of my left thigh. "What about me, Mbali?" Fuck when he resorts to pulling my second name out of the hat like that, it means he's taking no prisoners.  
I shook myself from my drunken state of lust and tried to resume with the conversation, which had become increasingly difficult because Sebastian was slipping my panties off at a deliciously agonizing slow pace, placing kisses randomly on my legs as the fabric brushed my hot skin. Once the flimsy piece of fabric was off and tossed to the side, he hooked a long leg on each broad shoulder, still kissing and now nipping at my sensitive flesh.  
"H-how you put up with... all my bullshit and don't complain. That stupid thing you do with my hair when I'm not paying attention-..." I drew in a sharp breath and shot up sligtly, throwing my head back when I felt him lick in between my slick heat, my mouth hanging open. Every time he did this, it felt like something new. He was so skilled, so adept at it that I was starting to think it was his number one favourite sexual act.   
"Uh-huh?" He said in between each flick of his tongue. He didn't seriously expect me to keep on talking while I was positioned like this could he?? He slid a finger into me and gave it a few pumps before slipping in another. "Keep talking, baby. I'm listening." Well, apparently, he did.   
"U-uhm, _Sebastian_..." was all my pathetic brain and mouth could muster in response, the words I had tried to form dissolving into hitched breathing and blissful whimpers once his tongue and lips resumed their place, flicking and sucking while the 'come hither' movements of his fingers coaxed me closer to a black hole of pleasure. At the mention of his name on my lips he turned the intensity up a notch and as he felt my muscles strain and quiver his mouth pulled away a little.  
"Eyes. Look at me, sugar." _Sugar_? The new term of endearment alone was enough to get me to look down at him with an amused smirk on my face, as I watched him return his mouth to my core but this time his hungry, smouldering dark blue eyes were locked with mine. His dark hair falling around his face gave him a menacing look, which only aroused me more.  
Soon I was back on the edge, mouth hung open in a silent moan and with one final, firm tug on my clit, I screwed my eyes shut and plunged into the black hole but instead of a never ending inky pit of desolation, I saw stars and flashing lights - and possibly black Jesus giving me a thumbs up - before collapsing onto my back with a drawn out shaky sigh, completely blissed out.  
What had actually meant to say, was how this beautiful soul had literally and figuratively come crashing into my life for the better. It felt as though I had took the long way around, but I was finally home.  
*  
 _ **August 14**_  
I remember the very first time I saw her. I was just a naive little 13 year old, who'd discovered the magic world of Hollywood celebrities and fashion in tabloids and magazines. I was snooping around in my aunt's sewing room while she lay passed out in her bedroom from drinking one of her many alcoholic beverages. Probably dry white wine that day - I was willing to bet my entire varsity tuition fee on that.   
Three days later, in a moment of sporadic independence and the thought of having nothing to do when I got home from school, I splurged two weeks worth of the tuck money I had saved up on Heat! which was _all_ the rage back then.   
Unfortunately that earned me the beating of the year, not for buying the magazine - goodness my mother wasn't that insane, no - but for taking an hour and a half longer to get my diddly ass home _and_ it had been raining that day, completely fucking up the fresh relaxer I had gotten over the weekend. God, my mom had even made me pick out the switch she would use to exact my punishment. I remember choosing the thinnest one possible, as if that would minimise my level of fuckedness. The delusions of a pre-teen African girl.  
I was abruptly pulled from my nostalgia, which I had been vocalising out loud, because Sebastian, Milane and Anthony Mackie were hosing themselves, tears collecting in the corners of Anthony's eyes. I gave Milane a look of utter betrayal. "Meems, you laugh, but the last time I recall, you and cousin Palesa got locked in your uncle's bathroom, getting the ass whopping of your entire existence before your aunt took scissors to your hair to teach you a lesson." I sat back with a triumphant smile as Sebastian doubled over in laughter again, clutching his stomach and completely red in the face. Even little Nevaeh - who was sitting on my lap - had joined in on the fun clapping and banging her hands on the table imitating her father.   
I had a soft spot for Anthony and Chris' little girl. She had a curious and naughty personality and a thing for clinging to Sebastian's hair, regardless of whether it was in a bun or hanging around his shoulders, which I found hilarious. She also had the sweetest little dimples when she smiled and I couldn't help but shower her with kisses and tickles whenever she was around. Like now.  
" **ANYWAY**! I had been idly paging through the magazine and land on this segment about who had the hottest bodies and what their best assets were. And hand to God," I raise my right hand up as if pledging an oath before placing it over my heart. "When I saw the white girl with an ass, I was in love. For real Scarlett, you were my first ever celebrity crush."  
If Scarlett Johansson was even remotely flattered by my confession, she didn't show it instead masking it with amusement as she huffed a chuckle.   
"If I had met you first before I met my 'other half', I would've given Stan a run for his money." She gave me a wink and her trademark lopsided smirk and I questioned whether Chris Brown was right when he said "these hoes ain't loyal."   
"Wow, she has a hot ass and swings both ways? Sebastian Stan, I think you may need to step your game up. She's making you seem a lot less exciting." I gave him a sideways glance.  
"Oh yeah?" He leaned in close and gave me a peck on the cheek before whispering in my ear, "if you weren't carrying a kid in your arms, I'd gladly 'step my game up' with my fingers underneath this table." He kissed me on the jaw and sat back, as pokerfaced as Lady Gaga, squishing Nevaeh's dimpled cheeks repeatedly. _Don't moan and don't look thirsty, goddammit. Where the fuck is my drink?_  
The toddler in my arms resumed her giggles, pulling me from my internal monologue. She wouldn't be laughing if she knew just how disgusting her godfather could be.   
Apparently her father did though, because Chris was staring at us with so much vitriol that if he had been gifted with The Force, he would probably choke us both.  
*

  
 ** _August 20_**  
" _Dammit._  Rori, didn't I tell you? What did I tell you? I'll tell you what I told you. I told you to haul your ass off to the doctor's office before you started blowing chunks all over the damn house, didn't I?" He was looking at me as though I had slapped him and his mom across the face.   
"Look, I haven't had any symptoms like this since I was about...what...15? It was Christmas and I thought I was going to fucking die, this time around I feel perfectly fine." I hissed back defiantly behind Dr. Mason whose back was turned as he took a look at the results printed out in front of him. Things had gotten out of hand. I went from throwing up, to having the _worst_ ever stomach cramps. I wasn't urinating anymore and I couldn't eat any food without feeling extreme waves of nausea just looking at a bottle of mayonnaise. The true nail in the coffin was when Sebastian squeezed me a little too tight and I cried out in shock at the intense pain that spread in my lower back. "In fact, I feel so fine I'd be more than glad if you opted to take me right now on the good doctor's desk." I threw a devilish smirk at him and wiggled my eyebrows.  
I've had a lot of people chastise me for being too loud and boisterous, when I'm actually being loud and boisterous, but I promise you, I had absolutely **NO** intentions on Dr. Mason hearing that last part! He turned around and looked between the two of us with an unimpressed look.  
"Actually Ms. Mzi-Mzilakazee," I cringed. Sebastian snorted. "I believe it's those very actions that got you in this situation." Seb and I exchanged an embarrassed side glance at each other, at least my skin colour masked my shame. "May I ask when you lost your virginity?"  
The asshole next to me coughed and choked on his saliva as he struggled to suppress his laughter, while I just gawked at Dr. Mason with wide eyes, as if I had just been caught smoking weed in the girl's bathroom at school. " _What_ \- uhm...well...this year, a little over a month or so ago, actually."  
The doctor hummed his response, sliding into the chair behind his desk as he made to grab his pen and prescription notepad. While he began scrawling a long list of medication, he resumed speaking. "As I suspected. You have a urinary tract infection. It's actually quite common amongst, uhm first timers, although I'm a bit surprised at how long entrance and incubation of the bacteria took in your case." His gaze slid up to mine from behind his glasses, "have you ever had a UTI before Miss Mzee-"  
"Mbali! Please, call me Mbali. And yes, twice before." He slid the prescription note in my direction as he sat back against his chair, eyebrows almost touching his hairline.  
"If you've had it twice in your life already, why did you wait so long to come see me? Did you not recognise the symptoms?" I looked down at the note, swallowing slowly. How was I to answer this without sounding like a complete asshole? I decided to go with the less blunt answer.  
"I don't know. I reckoned it was a stomach bug or something." I internally punched myself in the face for that lacklustre excuse. The doctor just huffed in response and then motioned for us to stand up and head for his office door.  
"You should count yourself lucky Mbuhlee," _for fuck sake_! "Had your boyfriend not dragged you down here, you could have suffered some severe kidney damage." Aaah, that explains the lower back pain. "Well if you stick to taking your antibiotics - and not having sex for at least two weeks - you should be fine." The posh bastard had the guts, the gall...the weave to deliberately pulled his reading glasses down the bridge of his nose, peering at me with eyes that seemed to punctuate his point. _Two fucking weeks_?!  
In a desperate bid to avoid opening my mouth and serving him with a witty clapback, I gave a nervous laugh and turned on my heel, sauntering past Sebastian who just looked on with a shake of his head.  
*

  
 _ **August 27**_  
And now here we are. Back at the starting point of this story, where I'd rather be burnt by candlewax in the eye than sitting in front of a pair of familiar blue eyes that were scanning over me tentatively. You know how there's that once in a while moment where you seem to be having an off day? Well I was having an off _LIFE_.  
God and Satan both didn't think I deserved much flourishing this year and were both actively laying the off days on **thick**. I was trying my best not to have some kind of meltdown or panic attack as a tidal wave of nausea swept over me. I took a deep breath.  
"Rori, baby what's up?" Sebastian moved to grab my shaking hand, stroking his thumb over it repeatedly as he waited with a commendable amount of patience, for me to speak. I took another gulp of breath in and slowly released the wind from my lungs - God, I've never been so scared in my entire life!  
"Seb...my love...oh God-" I exhaled again, closing my eyes as I gathered myself. He squeezed my hand to reassure me and I opened my eyes and looked into his concerned ones, wanting to see his reaction. _Ride or die_. I thought. Or was it 'now or never'?   
"Dr. Mason called me earlier, very frantically telling me to immediately stop taking my meds." I watched him furrow his brows in confusion, a deep 'v' settling in between them.  
"Why?"  
"He misdiagnosed...well, no. I mean- _fuck_." I rubbed at my forehead and then snapped my head up with a hard look in my eyes.  
"I don't just have a urinary tract infection... I- I'm pregnant, Sebastian."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaaaaaassssss!!!! Listeeeen! The amount of thought and planning that went into this chapter!! I do hope I truly and thoroughly snatched your edges with that ending...if not *holds hand out* give them to me =P  
> I actually had a UTI once...and the hospital misdiagnosed the symptoms first as meningitis (IMAGINE!!) and then larryngitis, smh. So this particular chapter has a piece of me in it...well they all do but that's neither here nor there.  
> Hope you guys are enjoying so far, get ready for the rest cause it's about to be too much drama and madness for your nerves!!  
> Comments and kudos are welcome. If you don't leave any, Bucky Barnes sheds a tear. Do you really wanna see our favourite super soldier cry?  
> Peace and bacon grease xx


	11. Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiyeee!!!! I'm baaaack and I'm focused and galvinised....and writing exams next week Monday but it didn't sit well with my soul to have this chapter just sitting around collecting dust so....here you goooo!!  
> Just wanted to say thank you to Ann who left a rather distressed comment after the previous chapter, you gave me the extra push I needed to update.  
> This one's a real long one to make up for lost time...hope you enjoy honies!!

The atmosphere around them was tense as he looked at the woman across from him. The face he was so used to seeing graced with a radiant smile or adorable furrowed eyebrows now looked absolutely exhausted and wrought with emotion. Sebastian just stared at her face and then looked down at their intertwined hands. Completely silent.  
 _Pregnant_.  
The word kept repeating itself over and over the same way the cogs were turning in his brain processing; realisation slowly beginning to seep in. No matter how much he tried to imagine this was some sort of surreal alternate universe or dream which he would wake up from, the warmth of another trembling hand in his confirmed that this was all real. The writing was there on the wall in big, bold black letters.  
Mbali, whom he had met only months ago and had fallen head first in love with, was now with child. _His child_.   
The thought hit him like a freight train and he was suddenly overwrought with a series of voices in his head. Doubting, questioning.   
_How did this happen? They always used protection; Mbali was on birth control... How had they gotten so careless?.. I don't know anything about kids... Raising a child is not easy... What about medical care, food, education?_  
 _Will I be a good father?_  
He was so caught up in his own bullshit that he didn't realise he'd let go of her hand rather abruptly, and had started pacing up and down, his jaw tensing and relaxing and tensing again as he ground his teeth, his right hand raking through his brown locks repeatedly.   
His nervous reaction led Mbali to believe he was upset with her. That perhaps he was beside himself with anger and disappointment at the slip up - that she'd come along and fucked up his perfect life and now he was trying to figure out how to get rid of her.  
He was still quelling his thoughts and trying to get a semblance of control and order over all these fucking mixed emotions. The tense silence drew on for another minute or so until she decided to speak, tired of being ignored.  
"Are you going to say _anything_?" He stopped his worried movements and directed his gaze toward the brown eyes across from where he was standing.  
"I don't understand. We've always been careful." He said. After a slight pause he asked, "Rori, you're on birth control. What, did you skip on your pills or something?"  
She gave him this look that was a mix between incredulous and ' _have-you-lost-your-goddamn-mind?_ '  
" _Excuse me?_ " The conundrum of emotions that kept flashing over her face began shifting, making way for one Sebastian had never seen before. Anger.   
"Well the last time I checked, when you fuck using protection, you don't get knocked the fuck up, Rori. We've been vigilant this whole time -"  
"So I just decided to up and skip on my birth control, is what you're saying..." The tone in her voice was cutthroat and chilled, like shards of ice dropping onto ceramic tiles. "Correct me if I'm wrong Stan, but are you trying to blame me?"   
The way she said 'Stan', something she'd never done before in the entire time they'd been together, made him pause. He needed to gauge his response or he'd be dealing with an angry African woman. An angry **pregnant** African woman, and he didn't want to risk getting his ass thrown in a circle because he pissed her off.  
"No. I'm not blaming anybody. And I'm not saying you did any of this on purpose," he ran his hand through his hair again and let out a hot breath. "Rori, let's be honest here. We have been careful, I've made sure of it, but you - I mean sometimes people forget.  
You've always been busy with work. You're travelling all over the place. You've had to fly home at least twice. And let's not forget when you were in hospital and then had to recover from the whole drugging incident. I'm just saying that may-"  
Sebastian stopped when he heard the gentle scraping of the dining room chair on the wooden floor. He stopped his pacing and turned to see a neutral faced Mbali standing, jacket hung over her arm about to reach for her car keys. Her eyes, looking anywhere but at him, swimming in tears that threatened to spill over if she didn't get the hell out of there.  
"Wait," he said making his way over to her, long and determined strides, his boots thudding against the hollowed floor. She ignored him. Only sniffled and continued gathering her things, schooled facial expression, with much quicker, sharper movements as she heard him getting nearer. Just as she turned to walk away from him, he reached over and placed his hand on her retreating shoulder. "Rori, wait."  
"No. It's fine!" She rounded on him with so much force, he had to lean back a little so her braids wouldn't hit his face cause that type of shit hurt. Her voice was eerily calm and steady, but clipped as she continued on. "I screwed up. Your life was perfectly fine before, and now I've screwed it up. Who cares how this happened - reality is that it did! You've got your acting and your fucking heart throb, boy-next-door-image to fucking worry about while I have to deal with this new prospect. It is what it is, right?  
You're not fucking ready for a kid - hell I'm not fucking ready for a kid!" Her voice was beginning to rise as Sebastian watched and listened in disbelief to what she was implying, his own anger slowly beginning to build as the conversation took an unsavoury turn.   
"I'll just fucking go and leave you to your pristine and peachy life. Pretend none of this ever happened, Sebastian Stan. I may be a 23 year old but I'm a goddamn street smart one - I'll figure this out on my own." He followed her as she made her way through the living room to the door, all the while continuing her rant.  
"I don't know why the actual fuck I thought this would turn out different. Me and my fucking gullible ass! Oh by the way, I'm _not_ 'getting rid' of this baby and don't worry about me putting your surname on the birth certificate."   
Now that set him off and it was his turn to get angry. He grabbed her by the arm that was reaching for the doorknob firmly and whipped her around, stepping into her bubble of personal space and giving her an accusatory look.  
"So what, what - I'm some fucking cold-hearted asshole who can't keep his dick in his pants? That I like to just satisfy a scratch and then I'm off looking for something new, because what I'm some juvenile fucker who likes to fuck anything that breathes and walks on two legs?!  
You calling me irresponsible, immature _and_ a fucking dead beat?"  
"Well that's usually how it fucking works with you men, isn't it?" She spat back in retort, face contorted in anger and nose flaring as she jabbed a finger into his shoulder, pushing him back. "Say all the right things just to fit yourself in a girl's pants? Fuckboys and nice guys are all after the _same thing_ \- they just have different methods!!" Her voiced cracked a little as he watched her struggle to hold back hot, angry tears.  
" _ **OH MY GOD!!**_! Do you hear what you're saying, Mbali?! Have you been here for the last few months or did you skip the part where I've literally done everything I can to show you just _how much_ I love you?!?!"   
Silence.   
The air was thick and electric. The two lovers were mere inches apart, Mbali's cool cotton blouse fisted in his warm hands, both of them panting something fierce. His blue eyes scanning her face, from the slightly raised eyebrows to her chocolate brown eyes, her lips parted in a silent gasp. He couldn't decide whether the expression on her face was that of surprise or pain...maybe it was both? His shoulders slumped and he tilted his head down, eyes focused on the floor, as his arms fell to his side. He sighed.  
"You didn't know, did you?"  
"Sebastian." It was a whispered plea, although what it she was begging for wasn't anything in particular.  
"You said good guys and bad guys are after the same thing...so whoever he is...he never showed you love. He just used you, didn't he?" He raised his head and watched as she took a step back. The anger in her face was replaced with this look of defeat and so much sadness, it looked like she would crumble if he touched her. But he didn't need to hear it from her to know just how badly damaged she was. His face was indifferent, emotionless, but his eyes were flashing with a rage he was trying to restrain. "What happened?"  
She fiercely shook her head. _I don't want to talk about it._ He began pushing buttons.  
"Did he try and grab you first?"  
"Sebastian- "   
"Get mad because you wouldn't give him what he wanted?"  
"I can't, please..." She tried to walk past him. His hand shot up to grip her arm again, rooting her to the spot as his gaze bored into her.  
"Did he force himself on you?"  
"Sebastian."  
"...did he **hit** you?"  
" _Please. Stop!_ "   
Finally, finally - _finally_ \- she broke down. It was all too much. The pregnancy, the fear, how life as she knew it was over, the crippling anxiety, her painful past, her unknown future...the load was heavy - too heavy and so painful. Her knees buckled as she fell into his chest grabbing at his shirt and arms desperately in a bid to remain grounded and avoid falling into a frenzied panic.   
He caught her in time and pulled her up and into his arms, a large hand pressing the back of her head into his shoulder as he felt her tears drip onto his shirt, soaking it a little. His other arm tightened across her shaking shoulder blades, while the hand clenched as he listened to the pitiful sound of her sobbing as though she'd lost a loved one. It made him clench his jaw so tight, it hurt. Knowing that another person with feelings, a heart and a mind could break another, more vulnerable person into a million little pieces and leave her to put herself back together.   
"Ssshh Rori, it's ok. Everything's gonna be alright."  
Somehow he had a hard time believing his own words.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to make it two parts cause DAAAAMN!!!


	12. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seb is being a confused douche, Mbali is confused, scared...and pregnant, Milane is pretty much over everyone's bullshit...so is Anthony (-_-)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's part 2 bruh!! I'm actually glad the chapter in itself was super long when I wrote it....I get to follow my original posting format of two chapters when I update =D  
> Enjooooyy

**_September 2_**  
"Your so-called boyfriend should be doing this you know."

I couldn't hold back the sigh that pushed itself from my lungs as Milane started up on another one of her rants. This was the third one this week and I was starting to lose my patience. We were on our way to the OB/GYN for my first ever appointment. Considering all the turmoil my body had been put through, I couldn't take too many risks especially where the little human growing inside of me was concerned.

I found it a bit funny how protective I was being over a baby that wasn't even that visible yet. But considering how...off things were between me and Sebastian right now, I was on my own. Every time I caught myself thinking about him made me experience a new type of pain that was too overbearing.

He was acting really weird, and I use that term very loosely. He wasn't his usual chatty self, he would read and ignore my texts or respond with a kind of nonchalance that was infuriating. Whenever I called - and I _never_ used to call - he was aloof and grunted in response, the air just felt really comfortable and intense. It had gotten to a point where I didn't want to be around him anymore because the way he acted made me feel as though he was still secretly blaming me for the conception of _our_ child. He had completely alienated me - and it hurt.

"You're thinking again aren't you?" Milane said looking at me then at my hands that had tightened on the steering wheel. I hadn't even noticed she'd finished her tirade which most likely consisted of Venda and English obscenities. "You've got your pissy face on, so don't try and lie to me either."

I waited a moment before I put my thoughts into words.

"I just fucking don't get it, Mimi! I thought he'd be...I dunno, not happy, but at least understanding and supportive. Especially after I told him about...you know..." I saw her nod frantically and pushed on.

"It feels like I'm getting two different Sebs. One moment he was comforting, next thing he's acting like we're estranged friends! He had me thinking he was ok with the pregnancy - and now he's not even coming with me to our first ever doctor's appointment.

What if he wants nothing to do with us? I'm scared, Milane. I don't want to do this alone." The last sentence came out as a defeated whisper. The overbearing pain from earlier had spread into my gut, making it churn. I felt her warm hand on my shoulder and turned my head to see her smiling reassuringly.

"Well tjom, if he chooses to remove himself from the picture then that's his loss, and he's a green shitting pig!" I smiled at her silly insult. "You're a tough cookie, you've experienced the most since I've known you. You're too smart to let this stop you in your tracks.

Besides, you're gonna have the prettiest baby ever and if he chooses to miss out on such a beautiful gift then he was never worth your worry all along.

Hey, remember that through thick and thin, I've got your back. You'll get through this - we will get through this. And whose to say he's not experiencing insecurities and conflicts of his own? You're both about to be parents, he's probably trying to do the math and working out all of Murphy's laws in that big ass head of his."

I burst out laughing as I pulled up into the parking lot, heading to a large tree that provided sufficient shade to keep the car cool in the hot Cali weather.  
Milane was my day one and it was comforting knowing I could count on my best friend for support while the one who was supposed to be taking responsibility was off doing fuck all. I pushed my fury with Sebastian to the back of my mind as I locked the car and tossed the keys at her, nodding my head to the entrance.

"Let's get our asses inside before I go 3 shades darker."

***

**_September 6_ **

As he looked at the screen of his phone, tapping it every now and then to keep it from dimming and subsequently locking (because fuck having to unlock with his complicated pattern, right?), Sebastian was wondering how he had become a physical embodiment of the Indy 500 or if he was a Dr. Seuss book, because the amount of dragging and reading he had endured the past two days was ridiculous.

Although he couldn't really blame the universe for coming for his ass. After the pregnancy fiasco, he had been acting like an A-class fucktard. He hadn't spoken to his girl in a while and when he did he was giving her cold shouldered answers - like _real_ conversation killers. When he'd had the chance to be with her, he would withdraw and keep to himself, only looking at her occassionally to answer a question or mumble some one worded response or grunts in agreement (or disagreement).

His actions led to dwindling phone calls and text messages, and a lot of shady status updates and profile pictures that only he knew were meant for him.

The first time he got his ear chewed off was on the 3rd. Milane had called him for the second time since they'd come to know each other, grilling his white ass because she had to accompany Mbali to the OB/GYN.

" _Listen here you lily-assed bitch - I hope you have the right ingredients cause I'm about to roast, grill, saute, boil, bake and fry your fucking ass. How the fuck do you sleep at night, knowing Mbali is pregnant with your big headed ass baby, yet I'm the one taking her to the fucking doctor?_ "

What? Sebastian didn't know this and was genuinely surprised by that new bit of information.

" _Of course you didn't fucking know! You've been avoiding her like the plague since she first told you about the child you're both expecting...or not really expecting - but that's besides the point._

 _She's_ pregnant _Sebastian - with_  your _kid, it bears repeating_!!! _She's pregnant and she's scared_ shitless _! She not only has to deal with the things that come with being an expecting mother, raging hormones and her_ very _traditional_ **African** _parents - who by the way have yet to find out - but she now also has to deal with your childish ass walking around, making her feel like she asked for your shitty ass sperm to make friends with her eggs._

_Nah fam, fuck you and your I-can't-believe-it's-not-dead-beat built ass! Step your punk ass, little dick behaving game up and take responsibility._

_How the fuck is she that much younger than you, but she's doing everything she can to be the best mother - and father at this point - to this unborn kid? No man, stop your bullshit. Swine._ " And just as quickly as she'd began having at him the minute he answered, she hung up, clicking her tongue before the line went dead.

First of all, as a full-blooded Romanian, Sebastian Stan would like to point out that he does not have a little dick. But he didn't say that, cause Milane would have ripped his larynx from his throat and fed it to him Mortal Kombat style.

Secondly, he'd like to think his unborn baby did _not_ have a big head. And his sperm wasn't shitty - otherwise Mbali wouldn't be carrying a foetus that's going to have the best features that not even genetic modification could offer. Perhaps his baby would have a big head, figuratively speaking.

Third...he was not a dead beat. Yeah he's had his reservations about children, wasn't quite sure if he was the type of person who could care for anyone else other than himself. But things were different now, he had to think about what the future might entail once a tiny, defenseless human being burst forth from his girlfriend of 5 or 6 months' uterus - not forgetting he still had a career to focus on. Yep, what the actual fuck was his life?

The second time his ass got read like a eulogy was when he sat down with Anthony and explained his current life situation to him. If he'd spoken to Chris about it, his ass would've been on the floor faster than the Rihanna Navy flooding Ciara's mentions on Twitter. He'd rather take his chances with Anthony, who also seemed to have a more, uhm, maternal take on these matters.

" _So let me get this straight_." Oh God. "Y _ou two, knowing the risks of having sex with this ridiculous predisposition that birth control alone would help you, had sex only twice without a glove right?_ " Sebastian nodded with a pathetic "yea" feeling the heat rising to his cheeks and ears, as he felt Anthony's judgemental gaze penetrating him.

" _Now, she's pregnant with your kid and instead of offering her support and being there for her - you sort of fuck off and let her deal with it alone, all the while leaving this notion of it being her fault hanging in the air, AND her best friend went with her to her first ever check up while you did what? Rehearsed your lines or some shit?_ "

Sebastian ran his hands and and down his face. He felt like he was 16 again, when his mother tore him a new one after busting him behind the religious youth classes with his hand up Sister Loretta's dress. She was not in the least bit amused because Loretta - a stunning woman with caramel skin and a fat ass - was 6 years older than him and "a harlot with bat wing lashes, a good wig and a Bible." His mother didn't trust Loretta as far as she could throw her, and considering that she was no longer a spring chicken and Loretta was voluptuous as all hell, Sebastian's mother would rather trust a pyramid scheme master mind with her son - so, naturally his mother hated her.

" _No offence Bass, but you're a fucking asshole. A big ass asshole._ " He saw no lies there. It wasn't the first time he'd heard those words in the past week. Milane had practically told him he was the textbook, Google image results definition of one in three different languages.

" _How the fuck you gonna miss out on the first doctors appointment man? The very first? Chris and I would give up our acting careers if it meant we could've at least had the chance to see Nevaeh's ultrasound._

 _You need to get over yourself and do it real fast. Yeah, it's unplanned and unexpected, I get it, but you also gotta remember the people responsible for putting themselves in this situation in the first place._ _Mbali didn't make herself pregnant - you also had a hand in this, and the fact that she's dealing with this alone while your head is still buried in your ass isn't setting a good precedent for you._ "

Anthony paused for a bit, mulling over what to sat next as he chewed on his bottom lip. " _You know this girl loves you right? I can see it in the way she looks at you. She's the type to hold you down regardless of how many times you could possibly fuck shit up - which is a lot. You keep this up and you're gonna lose two of the best things that could possibly happen to you._

_Nobody knows what the future holds, but right now, in this very moment, you're going to be a father and the most important thing is that you be there - for the both of them._

_Just count your lucky stars I'm not as forward with my feelings as Chris, cause you and I both know he would've decked you a good 7 minutes ago._

_Get your head out of your ass before the moment passes you by._ "

The two best things that could possibly happen to him.

The more he thought about it, the more realisation hit home. Sebastian really did love her, more than any stupid love song or metaphorical poem could ever describe. And by default that meant he had to be her rock and pillar of strength. Be there for every bout of nausea and weird midnight Chipotle craving; every mood swing that involved tearful moments watching Modern Family or violent, flippant rampages during Quest Means Business; every inch her belly stretched out further until it looked like it was leading her through crowds of people and most importantly every kick and nudge of their unborn baby growing inside of her.

Their unborn baby.

Despite the wave of insecurity and internal conflict that kept washing over him, he couldn't ignore that slight tingling sensation of butterflies rioting in his stomach. Whether he was ready or not, he was in this for the long haul.  He spent sleepless nights pinching himself over and over again to remind himself that this was indeed real life and that he was going to be a father - and by default he developed a bottomless pit of a type of love he never imagined was possible.

It was pure, unapologetic and endless, and it was all for someone he would only get to meet in 9 months time.

He hit 'dial' on the screen and waited. An awkward, yet relieved smile graced his face when he heard a familiar voice pick up on the second ring.

" _ **Hey Seabass.**_ " Thank God. She wasn't  _too_ mad at him, which meant they could still work this out - together.

"Hey gorgeous. I missed ya...how's my baby doing?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yaaaay!!! Holy crap this chapter was longer than I expected, but that's because I wanted to make up for the long ass wait you guys endured while I was away dealing with a few issues. Thank you all for the kudos, comments and lurking (I see you lol).  
> You can expect Grey Areas to be updated hopefully next week, priorities first though.  
> I hope you guys enjoyed these two updates, I've been beating myself up a bit over some previous uploads.  
> Happy reading you beauties!!!  
> Peace and Bacon Grease xx


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebali is back bitches!!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOOOOOOOMIGOD!!!! New update!! This is good people!! It means I'm officially on the mend, well, that and I've finally figured out the direction I wanna take with this damn story =) Anyway, it's not the usual two chapter update unfortunately, but in the next chapter I'll make it up to you all! ;)
> 
>  
> 
> Hope you enjoy!!

_**September 7** _

These blankets were nice, too nice. The familiar scent of Sebastian's overpowering cologne giving me a mild headache as I slowly cracked my eyes open. 

"For fuck sake!" I hissed, shutting my eyes again and covering my head with the duvet. He had made it very clear that I - or anybody else for that matter - would always sleep on the right side of his bed, simply because it was the first spot to get hit by the bright, hot sun. It was fucking annoying.

My hand reached over to his side, clutching at the now empty spot. I listened intently as the sound of music drifted into the room. It was upbeat and jazzy, the rhythm a constant tap-tap as a woman's voice filtered through the door. Something about "after the rain". I liked it.

I threw the blankets off of me with a huff and stretched beautifully, an unattractive, "dying cow" groan of delight bursting forth from my throat. I sighed in relief and relaxed into the comfy mattress, an idiotic grin on my face. Sebastian and I had worked things out the night before. I called him an asshole. He admitted to being one. He said he was sorry and gave me that stupid ass grin - it was hard to resist him after that, I'd missed this man beyond words. 

"You sound like a distressed whale." I pouted and gave him a sassy side eye. _On second thought, I didn't miss him_ that _much._ I chucked his pillow at him, a terrible effort as it didn't even make it to his feet. 

"You're lucky I haven't started showing yet, Seabass. That kinda comment would get you a serious slap in the face." I turned my head to look at him, stooped over as he snatched the pillow from the floor. "Feed me. I'm dying."

He righted himself and strutted over to where I was laying on my back, legs spread out slightly and arms casually splayed out on either side. I grunted in protest when he nudged one of my arms with his hand, deciding to lift it up instead as he lay next to me, and then placing it across his torso. He ran his calloused hand down its length, lacing his fingers with mine, our warm palms touching, and bringing our conjoined hands up to his full lips, placing a gentle kiss on the curve of my thumb. 

"So." He said. 

"So?" I could tell he was going to say something inappropriate. Or stupid. He always does whenever his sentences started off monosyllabic, and considering I'd just unintentionally laid down the potential sexual punchline by saying "feed me", I put my money on inappropriate.

"Who do you think she'll look like? Thought of a name yet?"

_Well that was rather unexpected!_

I turned my head to look at him again, this time a look of utter shock and confusion written on my face. I opened my mouth to echo my thoughts on him switching the script, but could think of nothing, so I shut it in defeat. With my eyebrows still scrunched, I directed my eyes to the ceiling and released a breath.

"How do you know it's a girl?" I wasn't very far along - about 6 or 7 weeks - which meant it would be impossible to tell the baby's gender until I hit week 12 or 13. Sebastian was quiet for a few seconds, prompting me to look at him, _again_. Jesus, he could be so frustrating sometimes!

His eyes locked with mine as a mischievious grin slowly crept onto his face. Those butterflies that were once hitting the dab, were now twerking up a storm in my stomach. I thanked the Holy Ghost that, once again, my dark skin shielded the girly blush that was creeping up my face. I wanted to smack him and kiss him at the same damn time. He turned to lay on his side and his left hand reached up to cup my heated face.

"I want a little girl, Rori," he murmured. "And a wise, old, faux-blonde man once told me to voice my hopes and dreams loud enough for God, and your chromosomes to hear 'em." My lips twitched into a small smile as I saw the honesty in his stormy eyes. He said it with so much conviction, my heart wanted to break and swell all at once. The idea of him secretly rooting for our unborn baby showed me a whole other side of him I would've never imagined existed. 

"Aw, don't start getting all teary-eyed on me baby!" I was enveloped by strong arms and a warm, broad chest. I sniffled and got a generous whiff of his morning scent. He smelled so clean. Soap and aftershave - I swear on my life, I wouldn't trade it for all the precious diamonds in Kimberly. 

Trying my utmost not to be soppy and emotional, I managed a muffled, "It's just the hormones Seb." 

"Yeah. Let's go with that then." He chuckled and planted a kiss on my head. "Have I ever told you, your hair smells like coconut and vanilla pudding?"

I reared my head back from his chest, eyes slightly puffy and lips turned up in curious amusement. I raised my eyebrows, and shook my head no, waiting for him to further elaborate. He kissed my head again and I giggled when I heard him take a deep, dramatic inhale through his nose.

"Well you do. Which is unfortunate...because I hate coconut."

"Fuck off!" I groaned and pounded his head with my own pillow.

***

_**September 9** _

"I'm sorry, friend."

I stared at Milane blankly, blinking a number of times as I processed what she had just told me. I began to toy with the straw in my glass of milkshake, twirling it around as I watched the chocolate syrup swirl and mix, becoming a caramel brown as it married with the vanilla ice cream.

Milane was "going away for a while". I had pried and prodded into her affairs, hoping she could at least give me closure by telling me the nature of this hiatus - but she wouldn't budge. Kept saying it was personal. 

"Well how long is 'for a while', Meems?" I felt a little childish that I had resorted to pulling out my pet name for her, but her face did soften. That had to count for something, right? She sighed and pushed her now empty martini glass away from her. I swear she was a low key alcoholic, day drinking during her work break...and this was her second glass!

"I can't give a definite number." She paused to look up, perfectly threaded eyebrows creasing her forehead. Milane hummed thoughtfully, hesitantly. "Maybe 3 and a half weeks?"

I reeled, causing me to sputter and choke on my milkshake. I covered my shocked face in the crook of my elbow and coughed, trying my damned best not to draw any attention.

"I'm sorry, Mbali!! But this is really important. I can't allow this opportunity to pass me by!" The coughing relented and I took in deep gulps of air, swallowing down the sensation in the back of my throat. "Are you okay? Do you choke on your man the same way you just did on this milkshake?"

I took another sip, glaring daggers at her from my narrowed eyes. She was laughing, joking casually to ease the tension and change the course of the conversation. Cover up her mistake.

But I wasn't stupid. I'd picked up on her error. _'I can't allow this opportunity to pass me by...'_

Call it premature motherly instinct, or womanly sixth sense, but something told me we wouldn't be throwing a homecoming party in 3 weeks time.

***

Sebastian waited for the door to open, a bottle of red wine tucked under his arm and a plastic bag of take-away in his other hand. He knocked again.

This time he could hear the faint sound of struggling on the other side, followed by a hiss and a soft _"mother fucker!"_ There was a brief pause and then, what sounded like a one-sided conversation. The sound of Mbali's husky voice grew clearer as she neared the door, finally unhooking the chain and turning the key. She cracked it open slightly for him to peer through and find she was already walking into her shared kitchenette, so Sebastian simply slipped in and shut the door with a gentle click, making sure to lock. 

He wandered into the living room space, focusing his gaze on the TV as he made himself comfortable on the snug loveseat. _Star Wars._

His eyes darted down to the coffee table located in the middle of the room. There was a thick stack of DVDs piled neatly next to a bowl of jello and a Hershey's bar. He winced a little. He should really get her to lay off the sugar - a lot! Leaning over, Sebastian picked up two of the DVD boxes, first reading the title of the one in his left hand, followed by his right - _Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows_ and...an _Ed, Edd and Eddy_ movie? He smiled a little and let out a loud snort.

"Nerd."

"Ey, I heard that!" she exclaimed from the depths of one of the cabinets in the kitchen. "Could you stop judging me for a sec, and come in here real quick?" 

Sebastian, having set the two movies down on the table, got up with a huff. Upon entering the kitchenette, he spotted Mbali's fluffball puff peeking over the island counter, bouncing this way and that, as it hovered to and fro with every move she made. Eventually, her dark brown eyes peered the smooth surface, darting around and finally honing in on his cool gaze. She stood to her full height and shook her head with a silly smile, when Sebastian, who was leaning against the countertop a few feet away, opened his arms up. She opted to ignore the gesture, choosing to focus on digging around for chopsticks instead.

Sebastian merely folded his arms with a lopsided grin. _Hmmm_ , she was becoming more resistant to his charismatic ways, which didn't bode well for him - it meant he had to switch the game up, keep her on her toes. If she wasn't responding to his gestures and body language anymore, perhaps she would react to his touch.

He silently stalked across the tiled floor to the spot where she was busying herself with lading food on to the plates, noticeably dishing out a mountain for herself. Somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered how someone so small in size could eat so much - he chalked it down to a fast metabolism and the mini-me beginning to grow inside her belly. His heart stuttered.

Once he reached Mbali, completely oblivious to the presence behind her, Sebastian's hand slowly reached out to caress her arm gently, not wanting to startle her lest she hurt herself by accident. Upon contact, Mbali dropped the fork she had been holding and felt her skin crawl pleasantly. He didn't know what it was about his touch that always seemed to make her want to melt into the floor and seep everywhere, but whatever it was, made her stop what she was doing, just to appreciated the tingling sensation that coursed through her spine. 

He caged her in with his hands against the edge of the counter, stepping in closer so her back was planted firmly against his chest. Lifting one hand off the surface, he laid it on her lower abdomen, trying to feel if there was already a little bump forming beneath the skin, muscle and fat. He imagined tiny feet kicking and nudging his large hand, as his baby practiced stuntman moves in Mbali's womb. He dropped a kiss on the hinge of her jaw. Followed by another at her pulse, and another down her neck. Soon, he had littered her entire shoulder as soft kisses turned hungry, and hungry became needy. 

There was no ignoring the moan that escaped her, nor the subtle but hinting rub of her ass against his crotch, and suddenly he was turned on. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, that's the new update! I'm so sorry for keeping some of you waiting so long for this new chapter, life and shit y'know?
> 
> Buckle up for the next update, I'm sure you have an idea of what's happening in that chapter *evil smirk* 
> 
> Thank you for your patience, you guys are super awesome and amazing!   
> Don't forget to comment and kudos, if you don't Sebastian tries to brush Mbali's hair and fails because she's tender headed


	14. Wine and Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebali. I'm making it a thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!! I wrote this all in one day!! Usually it takes me FOREVER to get work out, so this is monumental people!!! 
> 
> ENJOY xx

This man would be the death and resurrection of me. It hadn't even been two hours in mine and Milane's apartment, and he was already working his way under my skin with those fucking soft lips of his. 

I'd tried my best to resist him, honestly. I walked away from the temptation to throw my arms around him when I opened the door; ignored him, reluctantly, when he'd opened his arms as an invitation to busy myself in a strong embrace - all in the name of "the chase". You know? That thing trifling ass men are subjected to for an undisclosed period of time, when they royally fuck up and then seek forgiveness (see: sex) from their significant other. You're supposed to ignore his advances, be stingy with your tender touches, limit how many times you kiss him - reduce him to nothing but a sniveling mess of sexual frustration and tears so that he'll appreciate you more in the future... blah, blah, blah. I read it in a self-help book once.

Anyway, I was trying to give him the chase, but that was currently proving fruitless. 

First of all, this was Sebastian fucking Stan.

Secondly, this was Sebastian fucking Stan, the father of my baby...embryo? Zygote?.

Last, and most certainly not least, this was Sebastian fucking Stan, father of my baby-embryo zygote, breathing hot and heavy against my skin as I pressed my ass back into his hips and his hand slipped under the waistband of my sweatpants. And, I loved him. More than I could ever imagine. I would have never believed love could feel this way, mostly because I spent too much time with the wrong people, allowing them to distort my views and ideas on the concept - spent too much time hurting myself while others hurt me. 

I also loved his thick thighs. I told him so.

"Yeah?" he says, and I could tell he's smiling as he cupped his hand over my mound, lodging two fingers in my folds. "You love my thighs, Rori? Well... I love your pretty face." Sebastian banded his arm around my waist, holding me flush against his chest while he bit into my shoulder and sucked. His lips moved against the shell my ear, afterwhich he tugged on my earlobe with his teeth. "I also love how you smell like paradise after a shower. I love how you look like a goofy chipmunk when you stuff your face with food."

I laughed. Despite the feeling of heat trickling in the depths of my stomach, I threw my head back onto his shoulder and let out a loud bark of laughter, my knees giving out as Sebastian literally held me up by the sheer strength of his arm below my tits. He nuzzled my cheek, the light dusting of his beard feeling rough against my hot skin as he buried his nose into my neck and chuckled. How he managed to switch from making me feel like the sexiest woman in the world to gasping for air, howling with laughter, was a talent I doubt I'd ever be able to fully comprehend. But, that was Seb. He made me laugh, he made me happy.

After finally composing myself, I straightened and turned around to face him - I definitely did not miss the huff of frustration at his fingers disengaging from in between my thighs. Cupping his stubbly cheeks in my hands, I craned my neck and dropped a kiss on his pouty lower lip. "I'm sorry Seabass, but the magic's gone." I kissed him again, a little longer this time. "And I'm hungry."

With a gentle pat on his cheek, I slip past him and head over to the cabinet, pulling two plastic cups out and placing them on the counter top. "You wanna eat in here or the lounge, Seb?"

"Hmm, lounge. I'm in the mood for some cartoons. And," he adds, walking around the island to grab my hand and pull towards him, "if you're good, maybe I'll feed you some of that Hershey's sitting on your coffee table."

He hums and I sigh when we lock lips, again. My God, we're a sappy bunch aren't we? But I can't help it! In the span of 6 months, Sebastian has dug his fingers into my heart and plugged the dark holes I tried to plaster up over the years. He this way of knowing what to say and when to say it. Knows how to read me like a book, no, honestly. Instead of merely looking at the front cover and reading the blurb, Sebastian has taken the time to actually learn what's inside. Front to back. He's run his finger down my spine, swiped his cool palm over my skin as though he's appreciating the feel, the smell of it before opening me up and seeing me in all my glory. My pain. He knows how to move me, make my muscles tense when he's got that naughty gleam in his blue eyes and slacken their hold when he rubs soothingly into my shoulders. And I swear to God, that man can read my mind.  He's a heaven sent - when did I get so lucky? Also, what the actual fuck did I do to deserve him? If I unexpectedly jumped in front of a Maserati, will I be lucky enough to get that too? I wonder. 

"Damn, Rori, when did I get so lucky?" _You see?_

I gave him an easy, almost dopey smile. "2nd of April, when you nearly sent me falling to my death." I kissed him again. Shut up. "I'm glad I met you, Stan."

"I'm glad you met me, too." I swatted at his chest jokingly and stepped out of his arms. The food was getting cold.

With our two plates in my hand - my one unashamedly piled high with an assortment of delicious smelling food - I headed off into the lounge and placed his plate on the coffee table next to my bowl of strawberry jello. 

You ever have that moment of self-hate when you realise you've forgotten to do something, and now you're too comfortable or busy to get up and go do it? Like switching off your bedroom light just after snuggling into the plush comfort of your bed, or going to the bathroom for the best shower of your life after working out and wanting to fall to the ground in tears, because you forgot to bring your shower gel? Well, I was experiencing something like that after I'd put the season one disk of _Ed, Edd and Eddy_ into the DVD player. I'd unceremoniously plopped myself onto the couch and made the effort to lift my long ass legs off the floor to tuck them in sideways, already shoving a forkful (I couldn't find any chopsticks) of noodles in my mouth. It was only after popping a chicken spring roll in my mouth that I realised I'd forgotten the drinks. Fuck my entire life!

"Hey Seabass?!"

"Yeah?" He sounded preoccupied.

"Could you handle the drinks? Hunger clouded my judgement and I forgot."

Just then, right on cue, Sebastian walked out with two large coffee mugs in his hands, smiling triumphantly. My first thought was, that he's secretly a weird mutant - like Wanda Maximoff - with intentions of infiltrating the US government with his telekenesis. My second thought: why on earth he settled for coffee mugs when I'd already pulled out two tumblers for us and left them on the kitchen counter? The third one - why coffee? Or was it tea?

"You know I gotcha, kid," he said while strutting towards where I sat, raising the mugs in the air victoriously before setting them down on the floor, away from his feet. Sebastian bent down to grab my ankles and straighten my legs, lifting them up before sitting himself down and placing them across his lap. With a soft grumble and shifted my hips so I could sit more comfortably. Him and this habit of moving my limbs out of the way. After finally getting settled with his own plate of rabbit food, we sat and ate in easy silence, me bopping my head to the side and exclaiming "Ed, Edd and Eddy!" in unison with the show's characters at the end of the catchy jingle. Eventually, I spoke, pausing around a mouthful of chicken which I temporarily stuffed in my cheek.

"Sooo, how's the Marvel shandis going?" I asked.

Sebastian managed to furrow and quirk his dusky eyebrows at the same time, his face twisted in utter confusion. He looked so cute and funny I nearly spat my chow mein out while laughing. "My _what_?" 

"Your acting, idiot." He was still looking at me funny, so I proceeded to explain to him how I'd picked the word up at home. Sebastian only looked at me pointedly before answering.

"S'going good. Nice to get a bit of rest after all the flying and premiers and cameras and shit." He looked at me, a bright twinkle shifting in his eyes. "How've you been holding up, Rori?"

"What? Why are you looking at me like I just stole your 'Sunday's Best' church outfit?" He only squeezed my calf and huffed a chuckle, awaiting my response. "I- things have been okay but..." Sebastian's eyes left the TV screen to look at me after hearing the tone in my voice, the hesitant pause.

"But what? What is it, Sweetie?"

"I think Milane is hiding something from me. Something life-altering." I took a deep breath and steeled myself against my emotions before continuing. This situation, though frustrating, was out my control and crying about it would be pointless. "She's flying to New York on Saturday. The bitch refuses to tell me why, but she'll be gone for three weeks and then she's flying back.

"But why do I feel like she won't be back for long? I can't wrap my head around it, but she told me she can't let this opportunity pass her by - it feels as though the next few days could potentially be our last, Seb."

Sebastian sighed heavily, leaning forward to put his half-eaten meal on the table. He then took mine and did the same before reaching his hand out to grasp mine. My gaze focused on our hands sitting on my thigh as I tried not to feel like shit. Milane's my best friend. Hell, we were practically sisters. But at the end of the day, she was a grown woman with big dreams and one hell of a drive. If she was leaving because she was taking a step up on the ladder of personal success, then I would be ecstatic for her because it was what she'd always wanted. What we always wanted. Together.

But this was life. And my life could be a fucking confused asshole sometimes. It gave me Sebastian, but I would be losing Mimi. And it kinda sucked.

"Hey. Look at me," Sebastian said in a soft-spoken voice. I did as he asked. "I know you're hurting and I wish I could take that away, I really do. But I'm gonna be 'honest Seb' with you for a minute. 

"You're young, Rori, and maybe you didn't fully understand it before, but this is all a part of life. You grow up, you grow old, and sometimes, friendships grow apart. Unfortunately, you can't always pick and choose how or when it happens, 'cause that's not how it works, but you can choose how to deal with it.

"You two love each other to pieces and you're as thick as thieves, but sometimes that love gets put to the test. How you handle the situation will determine how all of this bullshit turns out in the end." He placed my legs on the floor and scooted in close, lifting a warm, weathered hand to cup my cheek. "I know I'm right, just look at us."

Damn. Come thru, life-coach Sebastian. Come thruuuu!!

My lip curled in one corner and I placed my own hand on his. He was right. The two of us had waded through piles of bullshit within a couple months of knowing each other - although I wouldn't say falling pregnant was part of said bullshit - and so far, we'd made it. Murder strutting our way through the smoke and dust like the badasses we were. Sunglasses and matching outfits to boot.

"You can't toot your own horn, Stan," I commented, giggling when he pinched my cheek and shook it gently. He stretched his other arm over, draping it across my shoulders and pulling me in to rest my head on his shoulder.

"F'course I can! Do you know who I am, woman?" He reached down and hooked his opposite hand under my thighs, pulling them up so my knees rested on his outer thigh. He kissed my forehead. "You're a troublemaker, you know that? But you're _my_ troublemaker."

"Yes, and you better not forget it either. Hey, by the way, why did you settle with coffee dude?"

Sebastian reared his head back to look down at me, once again confused. "What? I didn't bring no damn coffee in here, that's red wine."

Lifting my head off his shoulder, I stared at him with an incredulous look on my face, eyebrows furrowed and my lips parted as I tried to figure out if he'd lost his damn mind. "I can't drink wine, remember?" I rolled my eyes and scoffed when he only blinked at me," _Really_?!" 

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Sebastian Stan! Give him a round of applause for having completely forgotten what was going on in my uterus. I nodded my head down and cast my eyes down, gesturing towards my belly.  Another second passed before it finally clicked.

"Oh! _Oh_! Shiiit!" He touched his hand to my stomach, looking at me apologetically, "fuck, _Rori_! Baby! _Holy shit_ , I'm sorry. I- I forgot there's a tiny little person growing in there." So dramatic, I know. He grabbed my hand again, lifting it to his lips and kissing it twice before letting it go. He was smiling at me, those austere eyes sparkling in wonder and excitement. "I can't believe we're having a baby, Mbali."

Ah. My second name then. This was the Sebastian who'd looked me this way the night I held him close and told him I wanted him to be my first. Trusted him with my name, slightly debauchered, but held carefully - lovingly - in his hands. Unexpected circumstances aside, I regretted absolutely nothing. I liked the Sebastian sized spaced that had been carved into my life, wanted him to fill it forever if possible. 

"You wanna see your baby next week, Seabass?"

His face lit up as though I had just told him I had candyfloss-flavoured panties on. A beautiful, pearly-white smile on his face. My breath stilted and my heart fumbled.

"I thought you'd never ask."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop whoop!!!! Don't you just love these two?
> 
> I took the time out to read through this fic all over again and I couldn't help but fall in love with it all over again! It has a a LOT of bumps and hiccups, but I love how it also shows how much progress I've made with my writing! This fic is super special to me!!
> 
> Also, can we have a standing ovation for Dr. Phil-esque Seb"?!
> 
> Anyway, I will definitely be pushing to update these RP fics a lot more often. It can get a bit difficult cause it's not within the "fictitious movie" realm and I'm trying to be realistic...in my own weird way, but I digress!! Lucidity is in the works as soon as I wake up!
> 
> Don't forget your comments and kudos, my lovelies!!!
> 
> Peace and Bacon Grease xx

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I wrote it in first person *le sigh* I couldn't help it, I tried third POV and kept backspacing cause it didn't seem right. I just hope it's still good enough for all you lovely peeps.
> 
> "dololo" - its an expression for nothingness e.g. She told me the goat was under the bed, but when I went to go look...dololo  
> "wena" - you in Zulu/Ndebele/Tswana/Sotho/Basically all 11 official South African languages
> 
> Disclaimer: No goats or presidential candidates were harmed during the making of this fanfic


End file.
